The Kingdom
by angrypoptart12
Summary: Sakura is brought to the independent trade city of Konoha's castle under unfortunate circumstances. Can Sasuke rise to the event as his uncle ravages the surrounding villages? Will Sakura be able to unleash her full potential as the kingdom prepares for war? Epic saga of war, romance, and adventure. SasuSaku and other typical pairings. Rated M for language and lemons/smut.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

 **(5/16/17): I've begun removing author's notes from old chapters because 99% of it is irrelevant and is just me giving an update on my RL situations. It's relevant for the newest chapters really. So I'm deleting them out of old ones in order to keep the reading process clean, crisp, and unclogged. It'll also cut down on word count distortion. So that way my story isn't 20% author's notes and 80% actual story.**

* * *

Sakura was a smalltime village girl. Her father was a farmer and her mother was a schoolteacher. Sakura never went to school though. Her family always needed help at home with the livestock and the farm. Sakura eventually made it to the ripe age of 16. But due to the fact that she was an only child, her parents were reluctant to give her to a man to be wed. They had a shortage of farm hands as it were. The other reason was because her birth was not announced to those outside their family for fear of the government taking her as payment for their delayed loan payments. It was a rare occurrence for them to take a child as payment, but it was not unheard of.

"Papa?" Sakura asked shyly as she walked into her father's study, "May I have a moment?"

Sakura hadn't noticed that her father was already speaking with someone. She also assumed, due to her father's stern expression, that she was an unwanted intrusion. She took a moment to stand there awkwardly. When she had entered the room, both men had stopped talking and turned to look at her.

Sakura's father eventually told her, "Please… leave."

Sakura nodded and exited the room feeling embarrassed, but she only cracked the door and decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"You said that you didn't have any children" the raven-haired man coldly stated.

Sakura's father stuttered as he pleaded, "No… please no! You can't take her!"

The raven-haired man scowled as he grunted, "I _can_. We've hesitated to take everything from you so you could have the ability to pay what you owe, but I have a deal I can offer you."

Sakura's father made a gesture that he was listening intently as the man continued, "If you give us your daughter to work as a castle slave then your debt is gone forever. If not, we'll take everything, possibly even your life."

Sakura's father firmly stood up from his desk as he frowned snarling, "You have insulted me, my family, and want me to abandon what dignity I have left? You are no longer welcome as my guest. Get **_out_**."

The raven-haired man walked towards the door with his back still turned as he asked, "Is that your final answer then?"

"Get **_out_** **!** " came his stern voice once more.

"Foolish peasant," the intruder chuckled, "You are blessed with so much, yet understand so little. You'll rue the day you turned down my generous offer. So be it."

The man left the house with the full intention of returning for the pink-haired beauty he'd spotted before. He _had_ offered the peasant potato farmer a peaceful way out of his debt. If the farmer picked the hard way then the rest was quite simple. The man was determined to return for that wench. He knew she'd make a fine slave for his nephew.

* * *

"Why did you come in here?" Sakura's father shouted, "Why else do you think you never went to school with the other children? Why we never took you anywhere? Why we've never told anyone of your existence? They would've _taken_ you at the age of ten had they known you were here!"

"I'm sorry father…" Sakura whispered as tears rolled down her face, "I'm so sorry…"

Her father wiped a frustrated hand across his sweaty brow as he coldly said, "Go pack a bag. You've condemned us all, but you can still save yourself, if you get away then our deaths shant be in vain. Now go."

Sakura briskly walked out of her father's office towards her own room. Genma, a household servant, helped her pack the rest of her bags. Sakura cried as she hugged her mother goodbye. When she went out to the stables she selected a horse for herself, and Genma picked one as well. They rode off towards the forest on the edge of the property. Once there, Sakura heard shrill cries behind her and saw her home up in flames. She'd never been off her house's property and was beyond frightened. She was facing the unknown and leaving her family behind to suffer and die. She knew that she would never be able to live with herself if she didn't at least _try_ to save them. Genma was able to read the girl like an open book, especially when she turned her horse around towards the house. Genma quickly rode up next to her and swiftly grabbed her arm.

"You _mustn't_ go back!" He shouted over their cries.

Sakura cried rivers down her cheeks as she yelled, "I won't be able to live with myself if I simply run away without even _trying_ to save everything I've _ever_ known!"

With that, she jerked out of Genma's grasp. Riding furiously towards the flames, she had no idea what sight would be awaiting her. When she walked up to the flaming rubble that _was_ her home. She was greeted with stoically cold expressions on the faces of the palace guard standing on the outskirts of the damaged house. The royal family had ordered her family's liquidation. She fell to her knees in the yard looking at her house with the flames hanging like lava above the scorching bodies of her mother and father. Tears streamed from her unblinking eyes at the horror that was strewn before her. She reached out to touch a scalded hand but the embers were still hot and they burned her hands. She retracted them to her chest and let out a shrieking wale of desperation and agony.

A man in lavishly made armor emerged from a tent nearby and saw the pinkette sobbing in front of her house. He knew that this woman was unmistakably to one he'd seen before.

"Papa!" she cried out in a bloodcurdling scream, "mama!" but she received no answer.

The raven-haired man made a gesture with his hand causing a guard to shout, "In the name of Madara Uchiha, arrest that woman!"

The guards didn't hesitate to rush towards her and tie her up. Their clanking armor could be heard in the struggle. Sakura thrashed and clawed at the guards, but after a brutal battle the guards won out. Sakura laid bruised, battered, and tied up. Madara chose to make his appearance then.

"Your father was a fool" Madara spat as he kneeled and clutched the girl's hair and pulled on it to make her face him, "Wench, you are _mine_."

Madara let go of her hair, which caused her face to drop back to the ground. The guards unceremoniously tossed the girl into a wooden box. Once the lid was sealed the guards strapped the box to one of the horses. As they rode towards the castle there was no sound in the box except for a thud when the horses occasionally had to jump over a fallen tree in the road. When they arrived at the castle Madara ordered that the box be brought to his room and not a word be uttered about its contents. It was the night of his nephew's birthday and he knew he wasn't in the king's good graces. Sasuke was soon to be king, when Fugaku found an appropriate time to relinquish his title. Madara sat on his chair sipping wine from a solid gold goblet staring intently at the door. He found his patience slowly thinning to a fine thread. Right when his patience was about to snap he heard a knock at the door. Madara called out for whoever knocked to enter. He was expecting some servants to shuffle into the room with the box in tow, but he was sadly disappointed. Instead of servants, Fugaku entered the room. Madara quickly stood up then kneeled. Fugaku rolled his eyes at his brother's false respect and gestured for him to rise.

"I came to remind you of Sasuke's birthday banquet tonight" Fugaku stated with uninterest laced in his tone, "You always forget these things…"

Madara touched his chest and made a fake expression of hurt as he spoke, "Why, I wouldn't miss dear Sasuke's birthday for the _world_!"

Fugaku scowled and gave Madara a hard look.

Madara rolled his eyes then corrected himself, "Well maybe for the world, but nothing less."

"You're ego is exactly why father never gave _you_ the throne…" Fugaku hissed, "Your ambition would've brought this kingdom to the _ground_."

"Maybe so, but what good is a historical leader without a rise, climax, and dramatic fall?"

"You're hopeless" Fugaku muttered as he headed for the door.

Madara chuckled before asking, "Tired of my company already dearest brother?"

"You have no idea" were Fugaku's last words before he slammed the door closed behind him.

* * *

Sasuke was sitting up in his room with his arms and legs crossed sitting in a mahogany chair of a generous size. His friends were gathered around him, deciding on a celebratory activity before it got too dark. They all took a vote since Sasuke, as usual, was indifferent. They all agreed to take a horse ride in the farmlands outside the city gates. All the boys picked a horse and Sasuke decided to ride his usual onyx black stallion. His horse was so monstrous that it stood almost a foot taller than the others' horses. The boys trotted through the palace gates into the city. There were colorful lanterns hung everywhere in celebration of the prince's birthday. Sasuke led his entourage through the city as people he passed kneeled and bowed in admiration. Sasuke nodded at as many people as he could to acknowledge them, as a good leader should. Naruto waved to a guard at the tower post to open the city gates. The thick metal slates opened inwards towards the city causing the horses to take a few steps back in caution. As soon as the gate was opened wide enough the boys all darted out in a gallop on their horses. Once outside they were immediately greeted with the hilly, grassy plains of the countryside.

"I'll race you!" Naruto shouted with a goofy grin getting a head start.

Sasuke didn't bother with a vocal reply, but sent his horse into a faster gallop as his answer. Naruto and Sasuke were _constantly_ competing with each other. All the boys loved competing. The prince's court was composed of several boys: Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, Naruto, Chouji, Sai, Shino, and Lee.

"Oh my god…" Naruto muttered wide-eyed as he slowly galloped up to a house, Sasuke close behind him.

Naruto slowly dismounted from his horse and walked up to the scene of devastation. There was burned debris and blood everywhere. Sasuke slid off his horse and took a smell of the air.

"This is fresh…" Sasuke muttered as he picked up some of the hot ash only to be blown out of his hand by the wind.

Naruto scratched his head then asked, "You can you tell?"

Sasuke stood back up as he calmly said, "The smoke is still in the air, the ash is still hot, and you can't smell the decaying bodies yet."

"Decaying bodies?" Naruto asked skeptically.

Sasuke nodded and pointed inside the burned house. When Naruto took a closer look, he too saw the charred corpses with expression of dread as their final face before departing onto the next life.

"Who could've done this?" Sasuke growled as he turned around to face Naruto for an answer.

The blond shrugged before unsurely asking, "Possibly invaders?"

Sasuke shook his head grumbling, "No, It's much too close to the city. They would've been spotted instantly."

"Look!" Naruto shouted as he pulled a sheet of paper that was nailed to a nearby tree, then read it aloud, "Hear ye, this family bas been liquidated in the name of the royal family for repeated failure to pay taxes and debts. Due to in-cooperation, payment was taken along with the cost of their lives. Let this serve as an example. Any person who dare try and burry these criminals will be punished."

Sasuke clenched his hands. Something of this magnitude only happened with conspiracies and murder cases. Sasuke angrily took the paper from Naruto and got back on his horse furiously riding back towards the city. The guards saw him coming and opened the gates so quick that he didn't have to stop his horse. It was approaching late afternoon/early evening, so not many people lined the streets. Sasuke's horse galloped furiously though the city as he quickly approached the palace the guards opened those gates quickly as well, with Sasuke not slowing down until he had come to the entrance to the main hall. He dismounted the horse in one swift movement and left it to the servants to return it to the stables, briskly walking with anger in every step. He strode up to the large double wooden doors and with one hand and one swift movement he slammed both doors open causing not only a loud crashing, but also the chandeliers rattling afterwards. Sasuke didn't bother with formalities and trudged strait up to the head long table where his father was sitting and slammed the paper on the table in front o him.

"What the hell is _this_!" Sasuke demanded with a snarling tone.

"Is that anyway way to speak to the king?" Madara asked with his eyebrow raised with his usual dry sarcasm.

Sasuke looked form his father who was scowling while reading the sheet of paper to his uncle, Madara.

"Arrest that man!" Sasuke ordered, "For unwarranted use of royal authority!"

Guards quickly rushed over as Madara stuck his hands out saying, "Oh! Clad me in irons and take me away! I'm such a horrible person!"

Sasuke had nothing to add to his uncle's dramatic performance. Considering that Fugaku didn't protest Sasuke's order, Madara began to worry he really _was_ going to the dungeon this time.

"Wait!" Madara shouted, "Sasuke boy, at _least_ open your birthday present from me!"

A few footmen came in carrying a crate into the middle of the banquet hall right at the bottom of the stairs. All eyes were on Sasuke as he gave his uncle a hard look then turned his attention back to the box and slowly walked down the stairs until he was in front of it.

"I didn't have time to put it in a nicer container so you'll have to pry the top off. Terribly sorry about that" Madara said grinning, "But be careful not to stab it!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he unsheathed his sword and pried the lid off. He was speechless. It was a whole new low, even for Madara. Sasuke knew that the girl must've been from the desecrated house. She was the "payment" they mentioned in the note. He reached down into the crate and picked up the unconscious girl bridal style. The whole banquet hall burst out in gasps and whispers and a few appalled screams.

Sasuke looked at the pinkette's face then turned his gaze back to his uncle as he furiously spat, " _What the hell is_ _ **wrong**_ _with you_!"

Fugaku stood up and expressed his disgust as well, "Madara, by my decree as king, I herby _banish_ you from not only this palace, this city, but this _entire_ kingdom. Your return will be punishable by death."

"Oh dear! I've really done it now, haven't I?" Madara asked rhetorically.

"You're lucky I don't kill you where you _stand_ " Fugaku expressed sternly.

"But before you haul me away, I have to ask, Sasuke, do you like your gift? Pretty little thing, isn't she?"

"Leave…" Sasuke growled dangerously with his bangs shading his eyes leaving his expression unreadable except for his clenched teeth.

"Oh no… have I upset the prince on his special birthday?"

Sasuke had had it with Madara's mocking and disrespectful tone so he set the girl down next to the crate, unsheathed his sword, and threw it. The sword spun repeatedly through the air until it hit Madara's shoulder taking him off his feet and pinning him to the wall.

"I'll _kill_ you…" Sasuke threatened.

"Not like _that_ you won't" Madara said smirking trying to hide the shooting pain in his shoulder, "You missed!"

"Wrong" Sasuke retorted quickly, " _You_ missed. You missed the opportunity to earn all the second chance's we've ever given you. You missed the honor to be king because of your _God-awful_ attitude. _You're_ the one who 'missed', uncle."

Madara gritted his teeth growling, "This _isn't_ over…" as guard came and took him away as he was dripping blood from his shoulder.

A guard walked over and returned Sasuke's sword to him. Once Sasuke wiped and re-sheathed his sword he waited for his father's instructions.

"Sasuke, what course of action do you suggest?" his father asked him, surprising him a bit.

Sasuke scratched the back of his head with uncertainty before answering, "Take her to the infirmary to treat her wounds and bring her back to consciousness. Then have the ladies' court take care of her. I think that's the least we can do."

Fugaku nodded then gestured for some guard to come pick the girl up, but Sasuke shook his head saying, "No, allow me to take her."

Fugaku raised his eyebrow in a questioning gaze before consenting, "Very well. Go clean up into nicer garments then return to the banquet. It's in _your_ honor, after all."

"I understand, father. Thank you." Sasuke said as he took the pinkette into his arms the way she was before and proceeded to carry her away.

Sasuke slowly made his way down the hallway of the abandoned feeling castle. Everyone was at the banquet hall, so it was understandable that no one was around, but he knew the clinician was most certainly in the infirmary. When Sasuke walked in he set Sakura on a simple wood-framed bed. When he turned around he saw the clinician already looking over his shoulder.

"Tsunade" he said monotonously, "Please take care of her. When you're done have the ladies' court take care of her."

"What am I? Delivery doctor? Human packages?" Tsunade scoffed as she began emitting a green glow from her hands as she healed Sakura.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Tsunade's lack of respect for anyone. The only reason Sasuke put up with it was because she was the best-of-the-best. Sasuke left the room and headed towards his chambers knowing that the pinkette was in good hands. He was able to quickly dispose of his riding garments and put on a nicer, more formal set of clothes. As he eyeballed the crown on the other end of the room he started debating himself _and_ his future as king. He put the crown on and looked at himself in the mirror. He knew that he wasn't expected to be held accountable for his uncle's actions. But he knew he had to look after that girl, as much as he hated the opposite gender. Every girl he ever met couldn't even hold a conversation with him because they swooned just looking at him.

"Knock-knock Sasuke-channnn!" Naruto cooed on the other side of the door gently knocking, knowing Sasuke was in there.

Sasuke immediately snapped his head to the door with a mixture of a glare and a scowl.

"C'mon man… everyone's waiting for you" Naruto gently spoke through the door.

"Shut up dobe…" Sasuke growled as he slowly stood up and walked towards the door.

The crown he wore was silver and slightly smaller than his father's. It wasn't ornate with several jewels, but had a giant diamond in the middle and sapphires lining the bottom. It was specially crafted for him. No other prince had worn this crown and to him that made it seem like he was obligated to wear it to every royal event.

Sasuke gently placed the crown on top of his head and walked towards the door. He was wearing a chain mail shirt with a plain cobalt-blue silk tabard, and silver decorative plate-metal pants. Sasuke was prince, but unlike the soft-raised, pampered princes before him, he was a warrior prince. He was trained in politics and the assassin's arts. He felt more secure with his armor on than he did in fine garments.

When Sasuke opened the large wooden door Naruto tackled him with a hug cheering, "I knew you wouldn't skip out on your own birthday banquet!"

Sasuke groaned in distaste as he pealed Naruto off of him and walked towards the dining hall. When he entered everyone rose to their feet and faced him, bowing as he glided down the golden stitched carpet to the main family's table. Fugaku was sitting with Sasuke to his right and Mikoto to his left, and Itachi on the other side of Mikoto.

Fugaku stood up with his family following after him holding out his goblet full of wine as he belted, "Let the feast officially begin!"

Cheers erupted as others held out wine and mugs of ale. A band began to play upbeat music that some of the citizens stomped to the beat of. A few minutes into the celebration, Sasuke still had a stoically sour face.

"Ah!" Fugaku exhaled enthusiastically as a woman approached the table, "Lady Karin! It's good to see you! I'm sure your presence pleases my son as well."

Sasuke kept looking forwards and refused to acknowledge the redhead's presence until his mother gave Fugaku a slightly upsetting look.

"Sasuke why don't you dance with Karin?"

Karin didn't say anything but simply blushed as she cheered inside. Sasuke knew he couldn't deny his father's wishes, so he stood up from his seat and plodded around the table up to Karin and bowed offering her his hand. She gingerly took it with a vivid blush gracing her cheeks as they descended to steps down to the floor with the banquet guests and on the edge of the dance floor. The two waited until the last song was over. Sasuke stood in line across Karin on the boys' side, and Karin on the girls' side. The soft and flowing music began to play, so both sides bowed to the other. All partners stepped up to each other then turned to the side and stepped in time to the music doing various maneuvers. The dance was completely silent, neither of them spoke to one another, and Sasuke bowed at the end and looked up to see his father still scowling. Sasuke rolled his eyes knowing full well what was being expected of him. He took Karin's hand in his then tenderly kissed it. But when his lips met her hand he couldn't help but have his mind flash back to pink hair. He turned towards the table to see his father's face placid, but still not satisfied. Sasuke couldn't do much else so he took his leave and sat back at the table.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cheered from a lavished table where the other men's court members were.

Sasuke quickly looked to his father who nodded back at Sasuke giving him permission to accompany them for the remainder of the banquet. His father did have that nobleman's group established specifically with his son's social happiness in mind since Sasuke wasn't exactly the most talkative of people.

"Happy birthday, Sasuke" Neji said plainly, followed by a loud and cheerful, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" from everyone else.

Sasuke nodded with a smirk and sat down in one of the chairs at the table. He wasn't sure exactly what else he could do at the banquet, one dance was one more than he ever intended or wanted to do.

* * *

Ino was in the banquet hall when she had a servant come to her to escort her to the infirmary by order of Tsunade. Ino wasn't happy about being called out of the banquet, especially when she was starting to get her flirt on with Shikamaru. Ino was led down the hall and when she walked in she saw a pink-haired girl standing next to Tsunade.

"You?" she asked remembering the girl that Sasuke pulled out of the box earlier before the banquet officially started.

Sakura stepped forward with her face towards the ground, "My name is Sakura Haruno… Tsunade informed me that since I have no home I'll be staying here…"

Ino smirked, knowing Sasuke was asking her to take care of Sakura. He had a funny way of asking, cause he didn't, he just made a mess for someone else to clean up.

"Let's get you properly taken care of… I'm sure the prince will want you to appear at the banquet later tonight. You'll be the talk of the palace when I'm done with you. Now let's get a move on before it ends!" Ino stated confidently while she cupped Sakura's chin and moved her face around in order to scan what natural beauty she had to work with. It was hard to see under all the scratches and bruises.

Ino took Sakura's hand and led her down several other hallways until she noticed the hall was lined with bedroom doors.

"Where are we?" Sakura asked looking around astonished.

"The girl's court dormitory for those who don't have family inside the city bounds that wish to socialize in the palace. You'll be staying here as well. I'm sure we'll have a room ready for you by the end of the night."

Sakura just nodded as Ino drug her into a room and closed the door behind them.

"Ok darling just hold still for me" she said as she examined Sakura's face.

Sakura followed the blond girl with her eyes uncertain of what to think. Ino was inspecting Sakura's face like a predator inspects its prey. Sakura cinched her eyes shut and gulped as Ino continued to look at her.

Ino scowled at Sakura's reaction as she sneered, "I'm not going to eat you, I just need to pick out a good color dress that won't clash with your hair. But I can't say that _Sasuke_ won't eat you when I'm done."

Sakura's eyes went wide and her face red at that comment. She'd never even seen this Sasuke person, but apparently he knew who _she_ was, much to Sakura's dismay. She never liked being left in the dark about anything.

"First thing is first, we need to get this grime off of you. When was the last time you bathed?" Ino asked while trying to undress the reluctant pinkette.

"I swam in a creek a day or so ago…" she mumbled.

"Doesn't count, get in the tub." Ino demanded as she pointed towards the porcelain tub in a smaller separate side room, "I'll have some servants bring in some warm water, but lets get you soaped up first."

Ino gingerly reached into her cabinets and pulled out a few bottles of strange looking liquid. She read the look of confusion on Sakura's face and asked, "What? You've never used soap or oils before? Are you kidding me?"

Sakura then quirked a brow and asked, "Did I need to?"

Ino's face turned to one of disgust as she then told her, "We have a lot of work to do to make you a court lady. Good grief."

After the servants brought in buckets of warm water and lit the small fare place below the tub to keep the water warm they left the two girls by themselves.

"Why aren't _you_ bathing?" Sakura asked indignantly.

"I bathed earlier today. Not to mention I'm not into bathing with other people unless it's a hot spring. I'll just talk to you from here."

Sakura hesitantly soaked back into the tub filled with fragrance and bubbles as she slowly rubbed the dirt and ash off her arms and legs. She winced a few times as she came into contact with several bruises and open wounds. Tsunade had healed the more severe injuries like her broken ribs and deep cuts. The shallow scrapes and bruising had to heal on their own. Tsunade didn't want to risk straining her body from too much energy being put in that she used when she healed.

"Now lets get you dressed" Ino sighed as she grabbed a towel and held it like a drape out for Sakura as she rose to her feet to step out of the tub.

"What about the fire?" Sakura asked nervously as they were walking out of the bathroom.

"The servants will take care of it" Ino stated.

Ino watched Sakura dry herself off and felt a cringe of sympathy when she saw all the bruises covering Sakura's body. It must hurt her to do simple movements, but she didn't let people see that she was hurting. It made Ino think of her as incredibly strong.

"Come on!" Ino shouted as she took off down a hall dragging Sakura by her wrists in her new clean and dressed state.

The pinkette was wearing a stunning yellow gown with pink lace designs all over it. It was a tight fitting boddess with a loose and long skirt. Ino eventually got to the large double doors leading into the banquet hall, and with both girls out of breath she opened them. Sakura didn't know what Sasuke looked like, but the second a raven-haired man turned around to see her, she _knew_ who it was. She'd never met him but his name instantly came to mind. _Sasuke_.

* * *

 ** _To Be Continued…_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

Sasuke made his way over to the pinkette and stood just three feet in front of her and did what no one thought was possible of a royal family member, he bowed, deeply. Sakura stumbled backwards, but her arm was grabbed by Ino as a sharp look was given to her by the blond. Ino wasn't sure what was going on, but whatever it was, it was _huge_. Sasuke had the second largest ego next to his banished uncle, and he was _bowing_ to a _commoner_. The entire hall became utterly silent as every attendant of the banquet wore an expression of shock and surprise.

Sasuke continued to bow as he clearly spoke so the whole hall could easily hear him, "My family has dishonored you, taken everything from you for no justifiable reason. Although my uncle was the one who brought this misfortune on you, he belongs to the royal family, therefore I am assuming responsibility for what has happened. I offer my full apologies by extending membership into the court of nobility, granting you a title, along with the ladies' court of this castle. If you accept you will dine, socialize, and live a life of luxury inside the palace along with all the other young nobles and ladies. Even if you don't we will fully rebuild your home and your fields in addition to replacing as much of your damaged and lost property that we can. Your family's debt will be diminished as well. Which do you choose? I would be honored if you decide to stay here."

Sakura was taken aback by the proposal. She didn't understand how she had gone from being a secret to the world to getting an invitation to be a noble-lady. The rest of the courtroom was rather shocked as well. However Fugaku wore a smirk of approval at his son's humbleness and responsibility of the situation. While Fugaku would have rather left out the bowing, it truly did show how much the prince was being sincere.

"I, I don't know what to say…" She stuttered.

To Sakura, this wasn't even reality, this had to be an illusion. She was sure that she'd be waking up soon and going to muck the horse stalls and help plow the potato fields as soon as her rooster crock-a-doodle-doo'd.

"Say yes!" Ino whispered harshly in her ear.

Sasuke had risen from his bowing position but kept his eyes solely locked on Sakura's in an intense gaze that only Sasuke was capable of. As much as Sakura wasn't willing to admit it, it was making her melt to ooze.

"Yes… I'll stay here." She said, then softly added "With you" after the silence returned to the regular commotion it was just moments before the exceedingly dramatic event.

Sasuke held out his elbow, which basically was an invitation to latch herself onto his arm. Ino shoved her forwards without any hesitation at this once in a lifetime chance. Sakura stumbled onto Sasuke's arm to the degree where the raven-haired boy had to catch her and brace her with his other arm. It was a spectacle to be sure, but just as before it was only for a moment the event was noticed.

"These are some of the members of the nobles and ladies' court that stay here in the castle for my social entertainment." Sasuke said as he held his hand out in the general direction of the upper-class party socializing in the corner, "Well it's rather they are the sons and daughters of leaders and politicians, so I am trying to build relationships with them now so that in the future our kingdom will stay united."

"For your entertainment?" Sakura repeated confused, "Why?"

"Why?" Sasuke repeated her question as if it were silly, "Because everyone needs friends, and I can't always ride for hours on end to get to one of the noble's houses. They only come into town twice every year for royal conferences."

"Why are they really living here though?" Sakura asked trying to clear some of the confusion from the situation.

Sasuke shrugged then said, "It's an honor to live here, so if I extend an invitation most people just accept it."

Sakura had to ponder for a while because in her social class, living in someone else's house as a semi-permanent residency wasn't really an honor it was almost a decree that you couldn't take care of yourself.

"Would you please honor me with a dance?" Sasuke asked as he motioned with his head towards the dance floor.

He saw that Sakura was thinking too hard on the situation and he really wanted to show her a good time as if it would erase her traumatizing experience from just this morning. He was sure that she already thought all of this was an illusion, so what did one dance matter?

"S-sure!" She stuttered unsure of what she was doing, "B-but…"

Sakura had never danced before. She was never taught since she never went to her village's festivals or other social gatherings.

Sasuke looked over his shoulders with a puzzled look, "But?"

Sakura fiddled with her thumbs before whispering, "I can't dance… I don't know how… I never have before..."

Sasuke smiled for the first time in a long time. He took her other hand in his before planting a gentle kiss on it without breaking eye contact.

"Just mirror my movements and you should be fine."

Sakura was slightly reassured by his supportive and calming words, but was unable to truly audiate her gratitude towards the young man. As soon as the music started to play Sakura was forced to look around the room to discover what dancing was. She was sure that if she mimicked the other girls she would do just fine, and she did. She wasn't exactly graceful, but she didn't fall or disgrace herself and Sasuke. She was at least proud of herself for that. Sakura wasn't sure of what she was supposed to do after a dance but she curtseyed then made her way over to Ino.

"Why did you leave him!" She shrieked as she saw the pink tresses next to her.

Sakura played with her hair mumbling, "Well I… I danced and then I didn't know what to do…"

Ino shook her head then said, "Don't mumble. It doesn't look good on a duchess…"

"I'm a duchess…?" She asked almost questioning herself.

"You've been invited to the royal court. You're a duchess."

Sakura looked down at the floor without saying another word, she was really overwhelmed by the whole situation. Ino looked over to Sasuke to see if he wanted her company but Sasuke knew better and waved a dismissing hand at Ino which essentially excused Sakura and there were no hard feelings.

The party went on through the night and Sakura eventually wound up outside. She wasn't one for the loud music and drunken dancing later on in the night. She instead decided to make a quiet retreat to a peaceful place to contemplate on what had just been happening. She spoke softly to herself as she sat on a stone bench next to a pond surrounded by a rock garden.

"My parents were just killed this morning… how is it that I can be celebrating at a time like this? I've been orphaned and now I'm living in a castle. I know this can't be real. I'm not really in the ladies' court with all these other nobles. It just isn't possible…"

Sakura stood up and found some gravel near the pond, she looked for some of the flattest rocks she could find then proceeded to throw them as fast and skillfully as she could. The rocks gracefully skimmed the water as if it had magical feet. Sakura was proud of herself for being able to throw them so far. She did it often at the lake near her house since she really had no one to play with.

"How did you do that?" Someone asked from over her shoulder.

Sakura turned around to see blond hair and cerulean orbs, "Are you Ino's brother?" she asked skeptically.

The boy shook his head, "I'm the prince's right hand man, my name's Naruto. I just saw what you did and it was pretty cool, how do you do it?"

Sakura rubbed her arm embarrassed, "It's not very proper to be throwing rocks, but…"

"It's no big deal" he assured her, "It's not like you're running around here in your bloomers."

Sakura blushed at the boy's language. It wasn't very offensive, but it was rather brash and blunt. Sakura looked for a flat rock for each of them to throw and put in his hands.

"Now do what I do" she said before throwing the rock into the lake.

Naruto tried to follow her movements but sadly yielded no results. He was confused, but determined to figure out this sorcery.

"What kind of rock am I looking for?" He asked searching the ground by the pond.

Sakura handed him a few more she'd found and answered, "Ones like these, flat and smooth."

Naruto nodded then asked, "How are you throwing it? I feel like I'm doing the same thing as you but mine just sinks to the bottom.

"You have to spin it" She said showing slowly with her hand, "like this."

Naruto grinned sheepishly then threw the rock and jumped happily when he got 3 skips out of it.

"You're the best teacher ever Sakura!" He shouted gleefully.

"Shhhh!" Sakura shushed him looking around the garden then hissed, "People will hear us out here! I don't want to ruin your reputation."

Naruto looked at her funny, "Reputation? You're a member of the court… what's wrong with being seen with you?"

Sakura mentally slapped herself for not remembering. Eventually she returned inside to the festivities and soon decided that it was no longer a party but a lingering remnant of one. Ino soon found her and was worried about where she'd gone.

"Just some fresh air" she told her nonchalantly.

Ino shrugged then guided her down a few corridors until they were practically surrounded by all women. She assumed it was the ladies' court and figured that one of these giant rooms was hers. All hers. Ino eventually came to a room with her nameplate on it.

"They actually had time to do _this_?" Sakura asked amazed as her fingers grazed of the plate.

Ino just dragged the girl inside the room and closed the door, "Now for your personal tour."

Sakura looked everywhere but at Ino. The blond was frustrated but continued anyway.

"These rooms are usually identical aside from a few extra furnishings or themes of furniture. The ground plan and layout is usually the same. You have your bathroom over there with a generously sized tub and bath reagents and oils on the counter. Your bedding is made with silk and all your furnishings are made of mahogany or maple wood. Your clothes are in a wardrobe over here. Occasionally clothes will be changed out by season or something might go missing because the maids are washing it. I hope you enjoy your stay here, if you need anything there's a service room at the end of the hall with servants that would be happy to help you."

Ino curtseyed then left the room after wishing Sakura a good night's sleep. Sakura was taken with the room and it's boundless size. It was at least twice the size of her entire house. She had all the luxury she could imagine at her fingertips. Sakura quickly disrobed and neatly hung the dress she'd worn in her wardrobe near her bed and made her way over to the bathroom. There were exotic salts of all kinds and lavished oils and soaps. Sakura was in heaven as she quickly went to work filling up her tub with warm water. They had their own aqueducts that allowed most of the castle to have running water, as well as a service room for heating water. Sakura was lathering her body in several types of soaps and scrubs. Even though she had already bathed that day she wasn't used to the luxury of a bath being readily available at her whim. She breathed in their relaxing aroma and almost drifted off into sleep. She pulled the cork plug on the bath and let the water drain and stepped out and wrapped herself in a robe. She then went to see what she had in the means of pajamas. She quickly picked out a pink silk nightgown and sat down at her vanity across the room to braid her hair. She hardly ever had the time at night. She was usually beyond tired and didn't have the energy to do so.

* * *

"I don't think I can condone such a courtship" Fugaku said to his youngest son, "While you did grant her a higher rank, her blood still isn't of nobility."

"Then what I did means _nothing_. Will you not see reason?" Sasuke almost pleaded.

Fugaku scratch the back of his head while Mikoto nudged him with her elbow. His wife's nagging and brutish persuasion eventually caused him to crack.

"Fine. I will allow it, but you must woo her into being interested in you first, before you can have a formal courtship. You can not make her your slave or order her to be with you by using your influence against her or holding your generosity over her head."

Sasuke nodded and was more than willing to accept the terms of his father's agreement. The usual custom in their country was to be granted permission from your own parents to court a girl and then go to that girl's parents for permission, but seeing Sakura was an orphan he only needed his father's blessing. Sasuke was a little upset that his father still didn't see her as elevated rank or nobility, but he knew that would change in time. At least he hoped it would.

Sasuke left the room after saying goodnight and went to his quarters to sleep and greet the new day, however his parents were left squabbling behind.

"What are you thinking?" Fugaku asked skeptically with slight anger at his wife as they walked to their own room, "She hasn't even been nobility for that long. What grants her the right to court Sasuke?"

"Have you no heart?" She asked him with a frown, "That girl has had her lively hood taken from her. The only solid foundation she has right now is Sasuke and this castle. Do you want to deny her?"

Fugaku just pinched the skin between his nose muttering, "You'll be the death of me."

Mikoto just smiled triumphantly over her husband. He ruled the kingdom, but she ruled _him_.

* * *

Sasuke soon retired to his quarters where he threw himself on his bed starting at his vastly high ceiling. He kept thinking of that same pink haired girl. He was so taken with her that he couldn't keep his eyes off her, even when she thought she'd escaped him outside the banquet hall he was watching from the balcony. He didn't find it creepy since he was mostly just curious about the girl.

"So I heard you're courting our new mysterious little bumpkin" his brother teased him from the doorway.

Sasuke sat up and looked at his brother before asking, "How did you used to court?"

"Used to? Do I look like a married old man to you?"

"No" sasuke gruffly chuckled with a smirk.

Itachi just crossed his arms then huffed and said, "Find out what she likes to do. Her favorite things: Colors, animals, food, clothes. Then shower her with gifts and she'll love you."

"You make it sound like love has a price tag."

"It does in high society. Why do you even need to know these things? Your title should be enough to make any woman swoon at you. Not to mention your charm and good looks."

"Why are you showering me with your flattery? What is it that you want?"

Itachi shrugged, "Nothing in particular. Any chance you'd want to sell me your pink-haired birthday present?"

"She isn't a slave, and you can't have her" Sasuke hissed angrily at the notion.

Itachi lifted his hands chuckling in a submissive motion in order to quell his brother's brewing wrath. It was so easy to toy with Sasuke as a form of entertainment. He then turned around and proceeded to walk down the hall, leaving Sasuke to sulk in the dark of his own room. Sasuke finally blew out the last candle illuminating the night in his chambers, telling himself tomorrow would be the day to burry her past.

* * *

Sakura awoke with a start. She had a horrid nightmare, reliving the screams of agony and the sheer destruction of her house, her parents' half-scortched bodies lying in ash. Unable to sleep any longer, she put a robe on over her gown and stepped out onto her balcony. It was still dark outside, but she saw the lanterns and street lamps lit and servants already bustling around the place. She even saw Sasuke, much to her surprise, lead two horses out of the stables. A gargantuan onyx stallion, and a beautiful chestnut mare. She almost felt an urge to call out his name and wave, but held herself back. Soon she saw Sasuke look up to her balcony despite her silence, and turn red in the face and cover his eyes.

"What are you _doing?"_ came a shout from the doorway, "You mustn't let _any_ man see you when you aren't decent unless they're your husband! You don't know much about etiquette, do you?"

Sakura shook her head while Ino pulled her back inside the room, closed the glass doors, and drew the curtains.

"I'll have to teach you" Ino sighed, "And obviously from square one."

Sakura sat down at a round table while Ino snapped her fingers and dishes were laid in front of the pinkette with nothing on them.

Ino sat across from Sakura then said, "We'll start with table manners. Breakfast is in two hours. You must learn fast if you wish not to embarrass yourself."

Sakura nodded as Ino's instructions continued, "Your back must stay against the back of the chair at all times. Only lean forward when eating soup. Sit up strait, chin out, shoulders back. If you aren't eating, keep your hands in your lap. Don't put your elbows on the table. Do not speak to a man unless he speaks to you first. One of them will pull out your chair for you before sitting down. You must curtsy to them and say 'Thank You.' Then don't fidget or mover after sitting. When the meal is served work your way from the outside towards the inside with your silverware. Place it in the top right corner of your plate when you're done, so the servants know to take it away. Each meal has between three and five courses."

" _Five_?" Sakura repeated in disbelief.

Ino let out a sigh and said, "You shouldn't interrupt anyone speaking at the table either. And the portions are small so five courses is not as much as you think it is. Now pretend you're eating your food without moving your back from the chair."

Sakura struggled to reach without moving her back or shoulders from her chair, but succeeded as far as Ino was concerned. She knew everyone would cut the poor girl some slack since she came from outside the city and from poor conditions.

"Does Sasuke like horses?" Sakura asked curiously as she looked at the curtains covering the balcony doors, thinking of the two horses he'd taken from the stalls.

"He likes quite a few things" Ino answered sipping on some tea that'd been brought in, "But horses are among the top. Why?"

"Oh… I saw him with two horses from my balcony and just wondered."

Ino raised a brow, "Two?" Also realizing that Sasuke had probably seen her indecent in her night gown and robes as well.

Sakura just nodded completely unaware of the implication. Ino obviously had Sasuke's intention pegged. He planned to take her somewhere, and Ino got a note just a few moments later explicitly stating where. Her eyes softened a bit as she walked out of the room and returned with a black dress and cloak. Sakura quickly dressed and put her hair in a side braid and was ushered quickly out the door and guided away by a servant. Ino took one last look at the note given to her, in Sasuke's handwriting.

 _Today I'm taking Sakura to burry her past. Please help pacify my family and friends. I made sure they were informed that I'd left. Prepare her to leave before dawn._

Ino sighed as she set the note down on her own table and prepared herself for breakfast in an hour. It was going to be rough hearing everyone's agitation about the prince running off with the newly appointed duchess.

* * *

"This way m'lady" the servant bowed as he led her to the back part of the castle.

Dark, dank, and secluded, Sakura had a discomforting feeling as the servant left her side. Soon she saw a figure appear from the shadows in a cloak similar to her own.

"It's me" he whispered as he took the hood of his cloak down.

Sakura was relieved to see that it was only Sasuke. He held out his arm to her as she gracefully accepted it and was led away.

"Why are we going this way?" she asked curiously.

"We can leave quicker though the back gates, although it's a longer ride out of the city. I don't want to be stopped by a member of the court or my family."

The ambiguity of the situation unsettled Sakura. Ino hand't told her anything other than she'd need to wear black for the occasion and that Sasuke was taking her somewhere.

"When was the last time you ate?" Sasuke inquired.

Sakura hopped on her horse with Sasuke's assistance, riding side saddle as she was instructed by Ino to do.

"Tsunade fed me in the clinic last night" she answered.

"Then we'll stop for breakfast on the way. Put your cloak on and your hood up."

"What about you?…"

"I need full vision while riding. I'll put it on before we go inside anywhere."

Sakura gingerly put her cloak's hood up only showing the last foot of her pink, braided hair. Sasuke took the reigns of Sakura's horse in his left hand, and his own horse's reigns in his right. The guards opened the small back gate and Sasuke led them into the slowly awakening city at a steady trot. Riding side saddle was hard enough, but ridding that way at a fast speed was uncomfortable and difficult. The last thing Sasuke wanted was to have her fall out of the saddle and cause a scene. Sasuke had several people in the streets bow and curtsey to him as he nodded back. Sakura saw the exchange of respect and acknowledgement and smiled to herself from behind her cloak. Eventually after half an hour they were almost to the city gates when they passed a tavern. The wafting sent of fresh pastries and hot coffee made Sakura grab her stomach as it growled in desperation for sustenance.

"Not here" Sasuke whispered, "If we stay in the walls of the city they'll just find us and drag us back to the castle."

Sakura wondered why it was such a big deal for the prince to leave the palace, but decided to ask him about it later. After they left the city gates it was another half an hour before they came to the village, her village. There was a tavern that they decided to stop at for breakfast. Sasuke tethered the horses to a wooden stake near all the other horses of patrons inside the building. He flipped a coin into the nearby stable boy's hand to watch the horses. He put his hood up then casually slipped inside with Sakura. He pulled her chair out for her and she almost curtseyed and said 'thank you' as Ino had instructed her, but she was abruptly cut off.

"Not here" Sasuke stopped her, "You'll stick out like a sore thumb and make yourself a target for robbery."

Sakura sat silently in the seat while Sasuke went up to the counter to grab them some food and drinks. Once he returned she quickly forgot her table manners lesson from that morning and dug right in. Sasuke smirked at her then followed her lead. It was better she not remember her etiquette here.

"Did you hear what those royals did?" came a random voice in the tavern, "They executed those Harunos by burning them to death in their own hose, then took their only child, their daughter, to the castle as a slave."

"That's just horrid. I bet it was that prince, taking a sex slave for his coming of age. What an awful way to go about it. I didn't even know they had a daughter but she deserved better." Another voice chimed in.

"I'd never seen the girl, but I heard she was incredibly attractive. I can only imagine the things the prince is doing to her inside those stone walls."

"No" Sasuke hissed, grabbing Sakura's knee under the table, sensing her growing discomfort of the situation, "Let's not draw attention to ourselves."

"But they're _slandering_ your name when you've done nothing wrong!"

"I did nothing wrong" he restated, "You know that, and so does anyone else whom it concerns, and that's all that truly matters."

"I bet he seduces her every night, rapes her, and sends her to bed with bruises." came the voice of the instigator of the conversation.

Sakura'd heard enough, " _Silence_!" she shouted while standing up from her seat and slamming her open palms on the table.

Sasuke crossed his arms, slightly embarrassed, leaning back in his chair and kept himself hooded and on the down low, while Sakura retracted hers to expose her face and spoke once more, "As you can tell by my outrageously colored hair I inherited from my father, _I_ am Sakura Haruno. The Haruno's _only_ daughter. And being my father's daughter, there is _nothing_ I hate more than false gossip and slander."

"No way! Genma said he saw them beat you and haul you away!" the man shouted.

"They did. I still have the bruises to prove it-"

"Those probably came from warming the prince's bed" she was rudely interrupted, followed by laughter from several men in the tavern.

Sasuke's hidden cheeks burned red both from embarrassment at the thought of the pinkette in his bed, and anger from the disrespect she was being shown by her _own_ townsfolk.

"You may insult me all you wish" she seethed from behind gritted teeth while clenching her fists, "But you will _not_ soil the name of my savior."

"You defend the man who ruined your lively hood? You pathetic girl! Your father is dead because of your _savior_!" the man chastised her as he stood up and raised a hand, fully intended to connect with her cheek, but at that moment a black flash of lightning was standing beside her and firmly had the man's forearm death-gripped in his clutches.

"W-who are you?" The man stuttered slightly afraid and shocked at the man's reaction time.

Sasuke looked upwards a little, exposing his eyes, black as night with hints of burgundy from his livid anger, "It's of no consequence to you, unless you wish to carry though with your act of violence."

Sakura could _feel_ the aggression radiating off of Sasuke. He wasn't bluffing. When the man had yet to retract his arm, Sasuke clenched it even tighter. The man let out a yelp of pain and pulled his arm away back to his side and sat back down. Sasuke took Sakura by the wrist and led her back to the table.

"That wasn't necessary" he grunted, "Now if word gets out that your back in the village, my family will know I'm with you as well and take us both back. Not to mention all the townspeople who will try to come harass you."

Sakura swiped a stray hair behind her ear while looking at the floor whispering, "Sorry… I just couldn't stay silent."

Sasuke rolled his eyes then picked up his mug and muttered, "Then you should learn. Just eat so we can get out of here before something else happens. The sooner the better."

Sakura nodded and picked up her pastry in one hand and her mug in the other and downed them both quickly.

* * *

 ** _To Be Continued…_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

Riding up to the charred house was a challenge for Sakura in of itself. She didn't even want to ponder how hard it would be to dig two deep holes in the ground to place her family in. Genma however, seemed to be lucky enough to escape. Sakura remembered how she'd put him in harm's way as well when she'd turned around to ride back towards the house. There was no doubt in her mind that he had chased her to a certain extent before turning back around and fleeing into the woods.

"Let me help you down" Sasuke said nonchalantly as he slid down from his own horse and walked around to help Sakura off of her side saddle.

He gripped her dedicated waist and hoisted her up and off her saddle to the ground and kept his hands on her sides a few seconds longer than necessary. He hoped she hadn't noticed. She stood there in the middle of the half dead grass of her old front yard while Sasuke tethered the horses to a nearby tree. She kept her back to the house for her own sake. She didn't dare turn around. The townspeople surely hadn't buried them after seeing Madara's false decree.

"He really ravaged the place, didn't he?" Sasuke asked as solemnly as he stepped through the hollow, burnt wood and ash to find the victim's of his uncle's rampage.

He knew the commentary wasn't making her feel much better, but the silence felt even worse. He soon saw the two bodies and had to cover his nose and mouth with his cloak as the stench hit him like a brick wall. Walking back out he walked up to his horse and pulled out what seemed to be two large sheets of cloth. Sakura looked at him quizzically as he trudged back into the house with them. Moments later he walked back out with something over his shoulder wrapped in the sheets. Sakura assumed what it was and turned back around and squatted low to the ground, hugging herself as she wept. Sasuke carried the other one out as well, then walked over to where she was.

"Those are burial sacks. I had two of them made. Coffins were too large and obvious to transport with us out here, but the cloth has been soaked in herbs and incense which helps mask the smell of death as well as keep the scent from reaching the surface of the ground so wild animals don't dig them up. Do you know where you want to burry them?"

Sakura had to take a minute to untangle her words and push away the constricting sensation around her throat, "They had told me that they wanted to be buried behind the barn. It was originally the shack of a house they'd build together before making plans for a better one when they had me."

Sasuke nodded then said, "Follow me if you want, but I'm going to burry them."

Sakura nodded as she slowly rose to her feet and followed the Uchiha to the storage shed next to the barn. She helped find him a shovel and reached for one herself, but was stopped.

"Manual labor like this is no work for a lady, especially one who's grieving." he muttered.

Sakura looked at him puzzled. She still wasn't completely used to being treated one step below royalty. On top of that if a duchess wasn't supposed to play in the dirt, then surely a prince wasn't made to do so either. She simply sat on a nearby tree stump as she watched him take off his cloak and ruffled black shirt, leaving him in his knee length black pants with a black leather, gold clasped belt. Sakura wasn't sure she was supposed to see him in this state so she turned to the side and tried to avert her eyes, but as soon as he had dug three feet into the hole she felt more secure glancing in that direction. One thing she wasn't expecting though was the person who came riding up to the house.

She stood on her feet and shouted with glee, "Genma!" as she ran towards the man riding the horse.

Genma dismounted his steed and ran towards her just as vigorously. They both collided in an embrace which resulted in several moments of silence. Sasuke climbed out of the hole he'd dug himself and saw the two of them and slowly made his way over with the shovel. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't jealous of the way Sakura leapt into this man's arms and held him like her life depended on it.

"I thought they had you" Genma whispered as tears of joy pooled at the corners of his eyes.

"They kind of do" Sakura said sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head.

Genma looked over the pinkette's shoulder at the approaching figure asking, "And you are?…"

Sakura took a step back and gestured towards the raven haired boy as she said, "Genma I'd like you to meet the crown prince of Konoha, Sasuke Uchiha."

Genma gave the boy a skeptical look as he asked, "What's a prince doing out here digging holes? Isn't that work a bit below a royal. Especially since the royals created this mess."

Sakura scowled at Genma's dissertation, but Sasuke just nodded at her to indicate that it was ok as he answered, "I'm trying to right my uncle's wrongs. He ruined her life, so I decided I'm going to do what I can to fix it. It's as simple as that. He acted without consent of the king and he was banished for it."

Genma looked over Sasuke's shoulder and saw the two body bags by the one hole dug so far and commented, "I see you beat me to it, did you?"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Genma's line of sight then nodded, "It's still not done though. I need one more hole."

"Allow me to help." he offered.

Sakura felt a calm wash over her as the men went back to work on digging the holes. Feeling as though she could be doing something more constructive, she decided to get up and go scavenging in the woods. She would make grave markers until better ones could be found. She found a few pieces of sturdy wood and gathered them together then took some vine with blooming flowers on it and wove it around to form the sturdy wood into two crosses. She then got up and went to the barn and found some sharp sheers and carefully etched their names into the wood. When she went back out one hole was done, and the other was half way there. She saw Sasuke sitting on the ledge of the finished hole while he caught his breath and watched Genma who was still digging the second one.

"If you'd like" Sasuke grunted as he stood up and walked towards her, "Genma found a few things that survived in the fire and put them in that box over there. While you wait for us to finish up you can take a look through it."

Sakura looked to where Sasuke was pointing and walked over and put down her grave markers and picked up the box. She was staring aimlessly at it as she slowly plodded into the barn and sat down on a wooden stool. She had to compose herself and take a deep breath before she could muster the courage to actually open the box and see the contents inside. Pulling them out one by one, she felt her composure slowly slipping away. There was her mother's silver mirror that was tarnished with soot from the flames and the glass cracked from the heat, her father's pocket watch, her locket that she'd left in the house that morning in her pillowcase, and a small family portrait they'd had painted on a visit into the city. She was so young, but the charred edges of the canvas made her want to cover her mouth to keep from wailing. It was only a few days ago when that picture would've made her smile instead, with fond memories, but at the moment it only reminded her of the torment of having something so precious suddenly ripped away. She put all the belongings back into the box and sat on the stool with her face in her hands trying to regain her sanity. She heard the boards creaking then saw Sasuke leaning up against a hay stack, fully clothed, with his hands in his trouser pockets.

"We're ready" he grunted as he gestured with his head for her to head outside.

Sakura hugged the box to her chest as she walked outside with her red puffy eyes and stood before the two graves. The bodies had been placed in the holes and covered. She had to admit that for someone who didn't do manual labor, Sasuke did a good job digging, and so did Genma. She stood between the two of them. Genma gave an elaborate speech and eulogy while Sakura stood silent with half lidded eyes.

Sakura came forward with her wooden grave markers and with help from Genma, placed them in the ground properly behind each grave. All three of them stood there for a few moments in silence and quiet reverence. Eventually Sasuke and Genma made their way back out front of the house, but Sasuke turned around and told Sakura, "Take as much time as you need."

Sasuke put a hand on Genma's shoulder and pulled him over to the side as he offered, "I don't want this land to go to waste. I'll personally submit a construction grant to have this house rebuilt, but it's going to need a tenant. Sakura has opted to accept my offer and stay in the castle as a duchess. How would you like to take care of the place?"

Genma was shocked at his generous offer, but shook the hand Sasuke held out for him and laughed. "I'd love to! Let Sakura know that this home is always hers if she ever wants it."

Sasuke smirked as he nodded and then watched Genma take one last look behind the barn to see Sakura still standing there. He wanted so badly to say something to comfort her, but knew that no words would console her right now. The thing that would be best for her is silence to sort her thoughts and feelings out. He hopped on his horse and rode away back into town. Sasuke sat in the shade of the tree where the horses were tethered and waited for what seemed like hours, and he was hesitant to pull the pinkette away from her mourning, but when he saw the sun beginning to skim the horizon, he decided that it was time to head back to the castle. Traveling through the woods towards the city in the dark was just asking for someone to mug them, especially since Sakura was nicely dressed, indicating she was now wealthy.

Sasuke walked up next to the pinkette and muttered, "I don't mean to rush you, but it'll be dark soon, and we need to be inside the city gates by then. We need to leave in the next ten minutes or so."

Sakura didn't say anything to the raven haired man, but just nodded in compliance. She wasn't sure she knew exactly how to put her feelings to words. She'd been standing there staring at their names etched in the wood for what must've been hours, but the words she wished to express herself just wouldn't manifest themselves on her tongue. After Sasuke had turned the corner to go stand by the horses out of sight again, Sakura breathed a small sigh of relief. She didn't like people seeing her vulnerable. When she was crying in the barn and Sasuke walked in on her she felt like a child and almost as if she was being looked down on.

"Mom…" she whispered kneeling in front of her mother's grave, "I'm sorry I never truly listened to a word you said. I know that your words of wisdom will come to me when I need them, but thank you for always being the pair of arms I could run to, for always being prepared for anything I might do or bring home, and most of all for always being proud of me. I'm proud to have had you as my mother."

Sakura had to wipe a few tears from her eyes as she stood up and kneeled down in front of her father's grave stuttering, "Papa… I don't even have words for you that will resonate more than your love for me and this farm. Every crop that came out of the ground was the fruits of your sweat and tears. You were a proud man, and even down to the final hours when you were tested and you put your life on the line, you held on to your dignity. I wish in some ways that you hadn't, so you would still be here with me. But I'm proud to have a man so full of respect for himself and his family. I'll always keep that courage in my heart and make sure that part of your heritage is carried on through me. You were proud, but you were also humble and generous. No other man in this village could ever hold a glass of water to you, father. I hope both of you are at peace now."

Sakura stood up and dusted off her dress and stood for just a few more moment before whispering, "Goodbye…"

Sasuke saw Sakura come up around the corner from the barn and slowly make her way over to him. He was nervous as the sun was starting to disappear behind the horizon. He estimated that they only had close to a half hour to get back to the city before it was completely dark. He honestly wouldn't be that afraid if he were by himself, but guarding the pinkette as well made it more of a challenge.

"Hurry" he told her as he held the box of belongings for her as he helped her get into the side saddle.

He handed her the box back and grabbed the reigns of her horse as he climbed onto his own and rode a little faster than what was comfortable towards the city. He would've apologized to Sakura for the discomfort from riding so fast, but he had to be as silent as possible. Any twig snapping or animal noise could indicate that a malevolent bunch of bandits was close by. However Sasuke's fears were put at east as the city's gates were in sight several minutes later

* * *

Ino was at the palace gates to greet them. Not so much greet them as she was to warn them. All of the members of the gentleman's and ladies' court had no qualms about Sasuke taking care of some business outside the city. However his father was most displeased with his vanishing act. Sasuke wasn't looking forward to whatever his father had in store to say to him, but he proceeded to put the horses in the stables then came back out and faced Ino.

"An evening dress please, and then send her to my room" Sasuke muttered as he walked past the two of them in a hurry.

Ino blushed at the notion. It was very rare for a gentleman to call a lady to his chambers in the evening hours. While nothing morally bad usually happened it was considered a bold move forward in the direction of either solidified courtship or marriage. Sakura had no idea, being the simpleton that she was, and didn't understand Ino's frantic behavior to have her perfectly dressed. Eventually Sakura looked in the mirror and didn't even recognize herself. Her hair was beautifully braided into a bun with her bangs framing the side of her face. Her dress was a beautiful shade of emerald green that complimented her pink hair, and Ino was about to put on a beautiful, ornate necklace but Sakura stopped her.

"I have something else I'd like to wear" she pleaded as she pulled the lid off the box she'd brought back with her and put on her locket.

Ino snorted in disgust as she said, "There's no way you can get away with wearing that crusty old thing. Take it off right now."

Sakura tucked it into the chest of her dress so only the chain was visible and crossed her arms at Ino. The blond just scoffed at the stubborn pinkette and told her to have it her way. After Ino put some finishing touches of makeup on her, she shooed her out the door to be escorted by servants to Sasuke's room

* * *

Sasuke burst into his chambers and quickly changed out of his rugged, black leather riding attire into navy colored garnets more befitting of a prince. He left his crown on the pillow where it was in his closet, and made his way into the sitting area of the room. Moments later a servant walked in asking if there was anything Sasuke wanted.

"Bring a pot of tea and two cups. Some small, light foods might be nice as well."

The servant bowed, taking his leave to fetch the said things the Uchiha wanted. He was sitting at the mahogany table tapping his fingers, not out of impatience for the tea and food, but for the pinkette. He was nervous about seeing her. He knew the significance of what he was doing, and on top of that, so would everyone else the next morning. He can't believe they wound up spending the whole day in her village. Sasuke had hoped to be back before supper, but that was a bit advantageous. The priority was getting Sakura to make peace with herself and the past. And since that was mostly accomplished today, he knew that things would get easier from here on out, or so he would hope. A rap against his bedroom door snapped him from his impatient thoughts.

"Yes?" he answered.

A servant on the other side of the door said, "Lady Sakura is here to see you."

Sasuke cleared his throat then responded, "Send her in."

A few moments later a breathtaking duchess was standing before him in a fine dress and exquisite hair. He couldn't have asked Ino to do a better job. He stood up and pulled a chair out for her to sit in. She did the customary curtsy and 'thank you' before sitting down and being scooted up to the table. Sasuke then walked to the other side to sit across from her and sat down himself.

"The tea and food should be here soon" he muttered, "I'm sorry we weren't able to stop for dinner."

Sakura was nervous and forgot the etiquette of not playing with her hands and did so in her lap as she whispered, "It's ok."

Sasuke could easily tell she was uncomfortable with the situation and made a gesture for the servants by the door and every other attendant in the room to go make themselves useful somewhere else. As soon as the room was cleared her discomfort escalated.

"Relax" he told her, "I made them leave so you would be more comfortable talking to me."

Sakura took a deep breath then relaxed her back against the wooden chair and gently folded her hands in her lap as she made eye contact with Sasuke for the first time since she'd walked in.

"Why're you so nervous?" he asked her while resting his head on his hand.

Sakura took a moment before answering, "These are your _chambers_. I doubt that it's decent for me to be here."

"I see you're picking up on nobility customs and mannerisms. It's not bad that you're here, but it's very bold."

Sakura felt her cheeks burn at Sasuke's explanation and felt even more awkward about making eye contact. There was a slight knock at the door before a few servants entered with tea and food.

"We didn't know what tea you wanted, so we brought you strawberry pu-erh, your majesty. It's the freshest tea we have, it was brought in just a few hours ago." A servant said as he bowed and set the pot and cups on the table and took his leave.

Sasuke nodded. Sakura looked at the teapot with what seemed like extreme intrigue.

"What is it?" Sasuke finally asked.

"Nothing" she grumbled, "I just _really_ like strawberries."

At that moment Sasuke snapped his fingers and a small bowl of fresh strawberries was brought in and set down before the pinkette. "I hope you find this to your liking then."

He stood up and picked up the teapot and poured some into Sakura's cup before filling his own. They enjoyed some casual conversation. Sakura asked more about the castle and the members of the court than Sasuke did about Sakura's past. However he did take the time to ask her one thing he deemed important.

"So what is Genma to you?" he grumbled curiously taking another bite of his cherry tomatoes.

Sakura choked on her tea a little before setting her cup down, wiping her mouth, and answering, "He was just a farm hand. He was so diligent and hard working, my father thought to marry me off to him for my own protection, but I refused. He was more of an older brother figure to me since I didn't have any siblings. I didn't feel comfortable with the notion of marrying someone I thought of as my brother. My father respected my opinion and there were no hard feelings between Genma and I."

"I see…" he sighed inwardly relieved.

The thought of having to compete against a farm hand almost made him feel degraded. Another knock resounded at the door before a servant entered with what looked like an empty tray, but there was a small note on it. Sasuke read the note and rolled his eyes.

"Have you ever been in the hot spring?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head before Sasuke offered her his arm and said, "Allow me to escort you there then."

Sakura blushed as she was led down several hallways by Sasuke himself. She was used to servants escorting her from place to place, but not by _the_ prince himself. After ten or so minutes of walking through the castle halls they eventually came to a pair of side by side sliding doors.

"The woman's bath is on the left. The men's bath is on the right. If there's anything you need just send for a servant by the doors."

Sasuke separated himself from Sakura and gave her a small nudge through the door of the women's bath. He then walked through the door of the men's, not nearly as happily as Sakura had been.

* * *

"Sasuke…" Fugaku grunted as his son slipped into the hot spring across from him, "I heard you spent the whole day with that woman and even summoned her to your chambers. Please tell me you didn't…"

"Not yet" came Sasuke's cheeky reply, "But I do Intend to. Is that why you sent for me?"

"You act like this isn't of any importance. You _do_ know what that will mean, right?"

"Hn."

"Do you really want to throw your entire youth away on a woman you just started courting?"

"No one else on the entire court catches my eye like she does. From the moment I pulled her out of the box, I've felt a strong connection to her. It's not something you just ignore."

"It's not something to throw yourself at either."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The rest of the time they spent in the hot spring was relatively silent.

* * *

"Sakura!" Ino chirped as the pinkette cautiously slipped into the hot spring.

She wasn't used to being in the company of nude women whilst being in nothing but her skin herself. She looked around and saw that most of the ladies court was there in the water with her. All eyes were on her as her face turned red with embarassment from the unwarranted attention. The first person to break the silence was Karin herself.

"I heard the prince called you to his chambers tonight" she scoffed, "Don't think that makes you special."

Sakura just looked at her quizzically before Ino cut in with a snippy remark of her own, "Jealous?"

Karin just hmph'd and turned her nose up and looked away from all of them. She still was trying to convince herself that she was Sasuke's number one since she was asked to dance with him at the ball. However she couldn't swing that card since Sakura also danced with him as well. Karin danced better than her, but Sasuke seemed to enjoy himself more in the pinkette's company. She knew that she would have to put her foot down if she had any chance of being the next queen of Konoha while being in the arms of the man of her dreams. She fully intended to write home with a whole list of complaints like the spoiled duchess she was.

The hot spring was filled with giggles and laughs from all the girls who made jokes about the boys who they were sure were making fun of them as well. Sakura had never had female companions before, but now that she knew what she'd been missing, she promised she'd never take it for granted. Eventually the girls started to leave the bath and Sakura was left by herself since she was the last to get in. Ino kept her company though, and sat in warm robes on the edge of the hot spring talking to her.

"Sakura?" Ino asked concerned, "Maybe you should get out... You don't look so good."

As soon as those words left Ino's mouth and Sakura stood up, she fainted into the hot pool of water leaving Ino to jump in and pull her out. After trying to slap her cheeks a few times to bring her back to consciousness, Ino gave up and decided desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Sasuke!" She called over the fence.

The raven haired man was also alone in the bath but got out and walked over to the fence to better hear the hollering blond.

"What is it?" he grunted.

Ino huffed trying to get Sakura to stand on her own two feet, "Sakura was in the spring for too long, and she fainted from heat, I think."

Sasuke let out a breath of agitated air as he walked out of the pool, put a towel around his waist, and told her, "Get a servant to dress her in the women's room and I'll take her to my room again."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ino asked, knowing that she was literally playing a helping hand with creating a scandal.

"Aa" Sasuke grunted, confirming that that's what he wanted.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued…**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

Sasuke set Sakura down on his bed and went into his own closet to get dressed in evening attire. When he came out the pinkette was still incapacitated. He laid on his side next to her on the bed, silently watching her. When she finally woke, she groggily lifted her eyelids, unaware of her surroundings. Eventually she realized where she was and panicked.

Sasuke put a hand gently on her shoulder as he told her, "Relax."

Sakura put her hand to her chest as she slowed her pulse and looked over at Sasuke. As soon as she realized she was in her sleeping gown, she blushed and rolled herself off the bed, hidden from view.

"You can't see me!" She shrieked, "I'm indecent!"

Sasuke let out an audible snort as he scoffed, "Oh please. You should've seen how torn your clothes were when I pulled you out of that box. I've seen more of you than that. Not to mention you standing on your balcony this morning."

"You aren't my husband!" She shouted, "Ino told me only my husband can see me like this!"

"I'm not your husband" Sasuke repeated, " _yet._ "

Sakura just gave him a quizzical glance from her eyes peaking over the bed at him. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and finally grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her up onto the bed. He pinned her underneath him and looked long and hard into her eyes. What was it about this pink haired anomaly that was driving him insane? Was it the guilt he felt for her tattered past? Was it her eyes that were as green as the apples in the palace orchards? Or her skin that now looked smoother than cream? As the thoughts plagued his mind he quickly drew himself out of his daydream and sat up allowing Sakura to prop herself up on her elbows and look at him with a deer-in-the-headlights expression.

"I'm sorry…" he grunted out, "I just… don't know how to react to you…"

Sakura sat up and gingerly put her legs to the side while leaning on one of her arms. She wondered why he was so shrouded in mystery. He was her savior, yet she knew nothing but his title and status. She knew hardly anything about the Uchihas themselves, or the royal court for that matter. She was only educated on the basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. She almost felt too unsophisticated to even be in his presence. At that moment she realized just how minuscule she was compared to him, and how much trouble she was probably causing. However she couldn't just decline the prince's generous offer to take care of her, but what on earth was she doing in his chambers like this? It would make her seem like a scandalous moocher. She quickly hopped off the bed and bowed respectfully to Sasuke.

"I'm sorry" she whispered, "But it really is time for me to go."

Sasuke just nodded and signaled for a servant to escort her back to her room. He even gave her a robe to cover herself with before she left. Seeing as he had her put into the slinky gown she was now wearing.

* * *

"Where have _you_ been?" Ino asked sitting on Sakura's bed, already knowing the answer.

Sakura slightly blushed then sheepishly smiled as she answered, "Sasuke's room."

Ino just smirked and rolled her eyes then asked, "Why didn't you just _stay_ there?"

Sakura turned wide eyed, "I'm not supposed to! That's _scandalous_! I couldn't ever do that…"

Ino shrugged then headed towards the doorway of Sakura's room. She looked over her shoulder at her pink-haired friend. "I hope you're ready for a ride of a lifetime starting tomorrow" Ino answered.

Sakura had no idea what her blond friend meant by that playfully ominous comment, but she didn't like it.

* * *

"Rise and shine!" cried a cheery voice from the hallway. It was Ten-Ten waking all the girls in their wing of the building.

Sakura didn't appreciate the rude awakening, but she remembered that it was Sunday, and all the girls were supposed to be at the palace temple for the service that was held every week. Ino came into her room quietly and sat down at her tea table to make sure Sakura knew what to do.

"Have you ever been to a proper temple before?" Ino asked.

Sakura scratched her head thinking of the times she'd gone, "Once at the beginning of every new year, why?"

"Oh dear. You've never been to a regular service or cleansing?"

Sakura shook her head as Ino got up to look into her wardrobe, "Good" she chimed, "They remembered to make you one."

"One what?"

"Temple dress. You don't wear this anywhere but the temple, and you can't wear anything else inside the temple either."

Ino took a small folded bundle that looked like a traditional tunic dress that was white with black lining and hems.

"Don't think of this thing as ugly, all of ours look the same. And the men wear something very much like this as well. It's just for a few hours."

Ino handed the robes to Sakura and urged her to get changed while she got dressed herself, "I'll be back in ten minutes to fix your hair in a proper up-do."

As promised Ino returned dressed exactly like Sakura. Ino knelt in front of the vanity as she began to braid Sakura's tresses into a beautiful crown around her head. Ino's hair was up in a fanned out bun. Ino also gave Sakura a proper walking lesson of how to hide her hands in her sleeves while crossing her arms and walking with her chin up. It was a lot to take in, but Sakura caught on fairly well until her indoor slipper slipped on the marble flooring sending her with a thump to the ground.

"Try not to do that in front of the prince" Ino joked as she helped Sakura back up to her feet.

"Of course she will" came an annoying voice behind them, "She doesn't know how to do anything right, because she shouldn't even be here."

"Go away Karin" Ino grumbled while she rolled her eyes, "Just because no one likes you doesn't mean you have to make them hate you too."

"You little twit" she spat back, "At least I don't have to babysit a commoner."

"Good for you. So why are you still here?"

"Because I'm afraid your incompetence will ruin temple for all of us."

"Temple is _that_ way" Ino pointed to the door they were eventually going to walk through, "Why don't you worry about getting there first?"

Karin sashayed away from the two girls covering their mouths trying not to laugh at the red head.

"Don't mind her" Ino spoke reassuringly, "She's only here because her father is a merchant and does business with the nobles, but she isn't actually a duchess. The king agreed to let his daughter be here to educate her for when her father can afford to purchase a noble crest. It's kind of a formality but not in stone yet."

"Oh" Sakura said realizing she'd just been attacked by a hypocrite.

The blond and pinkette made their way out of the palace gates and walked a short distance to a distinguished looking pagoda where many finely dressed men and women were walking inside. Once the two made their own way inside they saw men on the right and women on the left sitting cross legged on cushions of silk while a number of monks in more humble clothing walked around with incense and water chanting an ancient language and laying their hands on individuals heads. There was one monk very finely clothed kneeling at the altar at the front of the large room with his back to everyone. He seemed to be praying.

"Quietly" Ino shushed as she took Sakura's hand and led her to two empty cushions.

She then whispered, "Cross your legs, palms facing up and open on the tops of your thighs, eyes closed unless your looking at the altar, don't make eye contact with any of the men, and most importantly, don't say a peep. Especially when a priest is close. Don't be alarmed if they touch you, they're saying a blessing and cleansing you."

After those words Ino said nothing else and closed her eyes. Sakura was more curious and let her eyes wander around the room despite her friend's warning. She let her eyes land on charcoal hair and a silver ornate crown with sapphires around it. Sasuke and his father and brother were sitting towards the front of the men's section and she was towards the back of the women's section so she didn't have to turn her head to look at him. Sasuke felt eyes on the back of his head and he turned around just in time to see a pinkette returning a gaze into his eyes.

"Impurity!" a monk loudly exclaimed as he then slapped a fan down on Sakura's head.

At the sound of the fan smacking Sakura, Itachi noticed his brother's wandering eyes and pinched his leg in order to direct his attention back to the front. It was bad enough someone was getting reprimanded, the prince didn't need to join them. Ino let out a loud sigh as she covered her face with her hands. Her warning words to Sakura meant nothing. She hadn't told Sakura of the consequences because she thought the girl would be smart enough to follow her instruction. Sakura was then brought up to her feet and led to a room in the back. She was put in a small fifteen square foot closet and the door was closed and locked behind her. It was dark except for a bit of light that was let in through bamboo bars from the outside world at a small window at the top of her makeshift cell.

"It seems that you have not been here before" a monk calmly spoke to her, "I didn't recognize you as I do most people who come regularly. What made you decide to come?"

"I was invited to the royal court. I was told by a friend of mine who is also in the royal court that temple is mandatory for all upperclass citizens."

"It is considered proper to attend, but that hasn't kept people from missing it on purpose."

Sakura let out a loud sigh instead of reply to the man's statement and slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting with her knees tucked to her chest. Moments passed. Sakura wasn't sure how many because hours felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours. The only tie she had to time was the light of the high window and the sound of the birds outside.

"I sense a lot of unrest in you."

"I'm in a cage. What did you expect?"

"You are not deeply disturbed by the room you are in. You are displeased with it, but something else troubles you. You know you can talk to me, right?"

"I didn't know that. I don't know anything. I've been a noble woman for maybe two days. Please, enlighten me." She said the last sentence sarcastically.

The monk smiled inwardly. She was quite the spitfire, "Very well, m'lady. This is the temple. I am the head shrine monk here. There are other monks that tend to the grounds and spiritual needs of people as well. Men and women come here regularly once a week to receive guidance and cleansing as well as a blessing. Spiritual rights are also held here as well. The women who choose to serve here are called shrine maidens. They assist the monks with retrieving items and tending to the temple's upkeep. They do not help with spiritual needs however they can find a monk who will best assist you with your needs."

"So why was I hit on the head with a fan?"

"We were performing a mass cleansing. Everyone's mind must be at peace. Not only were you emotionally troubled with what I sense are troubles of your past. You were lecherously looking at the men's section which I can only assume it means you were looking at the prince. Any kind of impurity during the cleansing throws off the ritual and the monks can sense it, which is why you were picked off so quickly once you wandered."

"Why do you assume it was the prince?"

"You think you are the first lady to be thrown in here for looking at him during a cleansing?" the monk laughed at her, "He has put many women in here for looking at him."

"So why am I here?" Sakura asked impatiently.

"You messed up the cleansing ritual. We had to remove you to continue, and we must perform a separate ritual for you since you can't abstain from distraction."

"So why does that mean putting me in a closet?"

"Less distraction."

"Why haven't I been cleansed then?"

"We have to wait for the other monks to finish the mass cleansing then come here for you. It will be a while. Why don't you tell me what is bothering you so much?"

Sakura took a deep breath and explained everything from her perspective to the monk. Her growing up in a sheltered and secluded life style. Then Madara's murder of her parents for no reason other than a debt that was discovered by the town's accountants to never really have existed in the first place. It was paid in full over five years ago. Madara had tricked her father into thinking he still owed money. Then returning to the house to find a burning grave of her family and other house hold servants. She explained what she felt when she was being beaten by the soldiers and then put into a wooden box when she then blacked out after she slammed her head on the box several times from the bumpy ride. When she woke up she was in a clinic in the worst pain of her life with a woman ranting to her about things she didn't understand. She passed out again and when she woke up a second time she felt much better. A little banged up like she'd fallen out of a tree, but it didn't feel like she had received the beating of a lifetime like she had. Then she met Ino and her adventure continued on to learning etiquette. Burying her past with Sasuke's help in making graves for her family. Then everything up until the present.

"And you're saying that this happened within the past couple of days?" The monk asked in disbelief.

"Four or five. I've lost count, honestly."

"My dear child… I wouldn't have wished your fate upon anyone. If I had known before the ritual, I would've asked you remain in your chamber and come when you feel prepared. But I suppose it's a little late for that now. Just remain in here a little while longer and we will let you out when the cleansing is done.

After a certain amount of time Sakura fell asleep in her closet like prison cell to the sound of the wind rustling the bamboo shoots outside the open window. After she'd fallen asleep time passed much more quickly and the other monks came in and performed the cleansing ritual on her while she was still slumbering. When they opened the door to let her out the monks couldn't help but cackle and laugh when they saw that she'd fallen asleep. They gently woke her and told her she could go home. Groggily she nodded and left the temple's back room and waddled down the front steps to find a scowling Ino waiting for her impatiently.

"I see that you didn't listen to me." she angrily chided her pink haired protégé.

Sakura bent her head down and bowed in apology to her friend. Ino sighed and grabbed her friend's hand and led her back to her room. The day had passed and it was mid afternoon then. Ino knew that Sakura wasn't used to the palace customs. That day was supposed to be a day of rest, so Ino decided she would teach Sakura some past times the girls used to pass this particular day of the week.

"First thing is first" Ino chimed, "You need to take your ceremony robes off and get dressed in whatever is the most comfortable for you. It doesn't matter what, since we'll be staying in your room. No one really goes out and does any kind of activities on the last day of the week. It's time for all of us to rest."

Sakura nodded and walked over to her closet and took off her temple robes and remained in her white silk slip that looked like a spaghetti strap night gown and made her way over to the sitting area of her room. Ino raised her brow at Sakura's boldness and asked her "You're comfortable like that?"

"I'd be even more comfortable naked, but I don't think you want to see me like that. If no one besides us is going to be in here then this is just fine. It's still pretty hot outside and I've been in those stuffy robes most of the day."

Ino shrugged as she patted the cushion next to her for Sakura to sit down. Sakura looked around confused and then turned to Ino with a questioning glance.

"So… what are we doing?"

"I'll tell you what we aren't doing. We aren't going to fraternize with the prince for the next several hours until dinner." Ino joked, "We can weave tapestries, sow dresses, crochet, paint, play instruments, anything. Many people think noble women sit around and do nothing, but that isn't true. We all have to have hobbies to stay sane in this world."

Sakura scratched her cheek lightly while she thought of what she would like most to do. "Paint. I would like to paint, please."

Ino nodded and stood up, "I'll go get some servants to bring the supplies. You don't have to get dressed, but just go into the bathroom when I knock loudly so they don't see you. I'll be back in ten minutes or so."

Sakura nodded as she sat on her bed and laid on her back looking up at her high vaulted ceiling and relaxed until Ino came back with her easel and paints. Ino had brought a flute for herself to practice on and the two girls set to doing their past time.

* * *

"That was pretty funny what Sakura-chan did, isn't it?" Naruto chuckled, "She must've been so embarrassed."

"I just wish I got to look at her longer" Sasuke smirked, "Her face was red."

"You were impure too teme?! You should've been put in the sin bin too!"

"When did you get so casual with Sakura anyway? Adding '-chan' to the end of her name? I spend more time with her than you do."

"She likes me more" Naruto mused with pink cheeks and a goofy smile, "She showed me how to skip rocks at your banquet and told me she thought I was amusing."

"I find you amusing too" Sasuke interjected, "But that's because I take pleasure in watching you fall face first over your stupidity."

"That's mean. You don't have to be a jealous jerk."

"Whatever" Sasuke huffed as he sat up from laying back on his bed. Naruto was throwing a ball up in the air in his room and catching it then throwing it upwards again. After Sasuke sat-up, Naruto looked over and the ball he'd thrown up hit him smack in the head making him fall down to the ground.

"Let's have a bet" Sasuke egged the blond on, "Whoever she likes the best, wins. The winner gets to make the loser court whomever they want for a week."

"You're on" Naruto smiled with scrunched brows in determination.

"I'll go see her first then" Sasuke said matter-of-factly as he kicked Naruto out of his room and closed the door behind him. Naruto was headed to his own room when he turned around and asked "Can't you get into trouble doing this? We're supposed to stay on this side until dinner."

"I don't give a damn, honestly. I would much rather go see my pink rose than stay pent up in this dreary dormitory any longer."

Naruto shrugged and headed back to his own room as Sasuke made his way down the halls. He only had to be sneaky once he reached the end of the hall towards the palace main hall which linked then men's and women's sides. The king and queen as well as other married nobleman couples were in the main hall. Each couple had their own chamber, but all unmarried individuals were segregated by gender so as to prevent certain "accidents."

Sasuke had made his way to the women's side of the garden fields. He'd managed to sneak his way past the guards, not that they were taking their job seriously on Sunday anyway. He crouched in some nearby shrubs and watched sakura who was sitting on a stool out on her balcony just a few meters away, painting. She was in nothing but her white silk under-gown which caused Sasuke's face to grow red. He assumed she was so bold because she wasn't expecting any men to be around this area, as they normally are not at that time.

"Hey Ino?" Sakura asked getting her friend's attention who was equally made comfortable in her spaghetti strap silk gown like Sakura's, sitting on a cushion crocheting.

As soon as Ino tilted her head up with a curious expression Sakura asked, "Are there any animals around here?"

"A few, but no large ones are kept close to here, why?"

"Oh… because there's something in the bushes, and it doesn't look small…" Sakura said with her face slowly burning redder by the second without directly looking at the bush with prying eyes.

Ino rushed over to the balcony with the ceramic tea pot and threw it's contents down into the bushes.

"Ouch!" came a grunt from the shrubs as Sasuke stood from his crouching position, "That tea is scolding hot you know."

"Not as hot as some other parts of your body I imagine" came Ino's impertinent come back.

Sasuke took his shirt off and tried to wring out as much of the liquid out as he could. Sakura could see where it had burned his shoulder because it started to turn a deep salmon color and she noticed how he took extra care in moving it when he put his shirt back on.

Sakura felt a small pang of guilt as he walked away, even though what had happened to him was completely deserved. Most people would fear opposing the prince, but Ino felt it was her duty to crack the whip on any man in the court be it duke, earl, prince, or pauper. Her only limitation was the King and Queen, although both of them appreciated Ino's efforts in scolding their son, even if they never directly thanked her they never reprimanded her either.

Sakura refrained from sitting out on the balcony after that incident. She watched him walk away back to the men's side of the palace. Sasuke's burn kept nagging at the back of Sakura's mind.

* * *

"Come we have to get ready for dinner" Ino chirped. She was going through Sakura's dresses and picked one that was a deep caramel cream color with gold embellishments and embroidery. The sweetheart neckline connected to the sleeves as if they were gloves, exposing the tops of her shoulders. Ino then did her hair in a beautiful side braid with pearl pins mixed into it.

"What about you?" Sakura asked looking at Ino, still scrambling around in her silk gown doing her best to take care of the pinkette.

"Me?" Ino asked pointing to her face with her mouth full of hair pins, "I'll manage." She said with a small smile while finishing up Sakura's appearance.

"One last thing" Ino said as she reached into one of Sakura's drawers and pulled out the beloved locket she herself had once berated, and put it around Sakura's neck.

The pinkette gasped as she looked at the sparkling gold, "This can't be the same one!" She exclaimed.

"It is indeed. I suppose that you've never been to a jeweler before, have you? Well I took your locket down there and had him inspect it. It isn't perfect but he restored it's quality the best he could. I also added a personal touch."

Ino reach around Sakura's neck from behind and opened the locket up towards her eyes only to have her start laughing. They were small professional pocket portraits drawn of the prince that Ino had stuffed away somewhere. She figured that the pinkette now more than anyone deserved to have them.

"Thank you, Ino. You are truly an amazing friend."

Ino's cheeks turned pink while she smiled from the flattery. She quickly scurried down the hall to her own room to try and throw herself together. Sakura was quickly on her heels chasing her down the hall. Once they were inside Ino's room Sakura watched the blond frantically throwing things out of her wardrobe onto the floor in an attempt to find a suitable dress that match her current mood and preferences.

"May I help?" Sakura asked as she walked towards her crazed companion.

Ino looked up and just huffed before taking a few steps back to let Sakura look inside her closet. Sakura quickly picked a soft lavender dress that brought out the blue in Ino's eyes. She helped her friend put it on and tighten the bodice then Ino sat down at the vanity to do her make up while Sakura patiently watched.

"I'm not much with make-up" Sakura interjected, "But if you would allow me, can I fix your hair? It will cut the time in half so we aren't late and I feel bad that you always help me and then have no time to look nice yourself."

"That's what friends are for!" Ino quickly interjected, "It really is no problem for me, but if you would like to take care of my hair that would be lovely."

Sakura reached for her friend's comb laying on the vanity table and took some ribbon and set to work. She made a matching side braid with Ino's hair except she wove blue ribbon into it much like the color of Ino's eyes and then down at the bottom of the braid made a bow. Ino was very impressed and thanked the pinkette for her efforts.

The two walked arm and arm laughing and cackling the whole way to the dining hall. They soon walked into a room with a table that looked like a giant square missing one of it's sides. Ino waited next to Sakura and reminded her to stay standing until one of the boy's pulled the chair out for her. A few moments later the men all came slowly into the room and each went to a woman's side and waited as well. Then the royal family walked in and after servants pulled their chairs out and they sat down the others were free to sit as well. Sakura looked at who was pulling out her chair and radiated a gorgeous smile. They were met with Naruto's laughing eyes as he over dramatically said "Madam" and bowed with a folded arm. Sakura curtsied and said "Thank you" before sitting. They both laughed at their small mockery of the court's formal customs as Naruto walked around the table to have a seat on the other side in front of her.

"So how was the human ice cube?" Naruto asked with a goofy grin.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

Sakura raised a brow then asked, "What do you mean?"

"He didn't pay you a visit this afternoon?"

"Oh my god!" Ino interjected, "You put him up to that?!"

"Woah" Naruto put his hands up in a defensive gesture, "I'm guessing it wasn't good then."

"Of course not!" Ino angrily whispered so no one could over hear, "Peeping on women in their silk gowns is never a good idea!"

Naruto started laughing and tipped backed in his chair while gripping his stomach to quell himself, "That's hilarious!" He shouted, "I couldn't ever imagine him doing that!" immediately gripping Sasuke's attention and his gaze on the three talking

Sasuke noticed how Sakura's cheeks turned pink and she looked at the floor as Ino's face turned a rampant red with anger as she explained what happened to Naruto and even pointed her finger at the blond in a threatening manner. He was sure that his little afternoon visit was what they were talking about. He felt guilty as he looked at the flustered expression on Sakura's face. She surely didn't appreciate being spied on, especially the way she was dressed. He'd seen her like that before, but he knew that didn't make it justified. He was so ashamed that he couldn't bear to get up from his seat and attempt to join in their conversation.

Itachi noticed his brother's rather glum mood and nudged him while nodding his head gesturing towards the animated trio he was looking at. Itachi just thought that his brother was developing a butterfly complex in his stomach keeping him from going over there. Sasuke knew if Itachi ever found out what he did that he would never let him live it down. Sasuke watched as people began to leave their seats after eating to return to their rooms. He saw Naruto stand up and take both Sakura's then Ino's hands and planted a friendly kiss on the back of each to bid them goodnight.

Sasuke felt envy of his friend, not having the courage to face Sakura and wound up standing up without a servant to pull his seat for him and marched off to his room causing a concerning glance to appear on both his parents' faces.

"Hormones" were the only words out of Itachi's mouth as he contentedly continued to eat his food without a second thought about his over emotional brother.

* * *

Sakura knew it was a seriously bad idea. She was so sure it was a bad idea that every step she took she winced and her heart felt like a cinderblock ricocheting off her rib cage. When she finally got to Sasuke's room her breath was fast and shallow, her palms were sweating, hands shaking, and throat constricting. The final shove she needed was the sound of someone walking down the hall who would catch her creeping outside of the prince's door. She opened the door and quickly closed it behind her while bracing herself against the back of it. Sasuke was so startled that he stood up out of his chair where he was reading, shirtless, with a cold cloth over his shoulder. He wasn't used to having unannounced guests waltz into his room. However once he realized who the intruder was he didn't mind.

Sakura immediately covered her eyes and incoherently muttered apologies while looking down at her feet. Sasuke walked over to the pinkette and gently grabbed her hands and moved it from her eyes then with the other hand raised her head from under her chin.

"It's ok. You've seen me like this before."

"Yes but you weren't in your own chambers and what if someone walks in? What will they think!"

"Calm down. No one is coming. My parents have already spoken to me, and my brother has no interest in visiting me. Naruto is the only concern and I heard that he's with Tsunade for a concussion."

"Concussion? What happened?"

Sasuke didn't want to admit it was from him punching Naruto after seeing him kiss Sakura's hand. So he made up a lie about Naruto laughing later that night and falling backwards out of his chair, as would be characteristically in line for him to do.

Sakura eventually stopped blushing as she saw the reddish pink skin that was starting to blister on Sasuke's shoulder. She felt a pang of guilt again but then remembered what she'd come here to do in the first place.

"Please," she quietly pleaded, "Let me help you with your shoulder."

"I've already been applying cold water to it, what more is there to do?"

"There was a balm my mother and I made for my father and Genma when they would go out to work and come back with blisters and burns on their hands from the forge on our property."

Sakura then pulled out a cloth scrap that was wadded up in a bulb where Sasuke assume the balm was. Sakura took two fingers and dipped into the salve and then gestured for sasuke to sit on the foot of his bed that was nearby. She sat behind him and gently spread the cooling paste around over the edges of the burn and then finished off with a layer of hydrating oil to try and repair the damage as well as keep his skin from scarring or becoming permanently damaged. She then finished by re wrapping the cool water bandage back around his shoulder and arm. She stood and bowed to take her leave when Sasuke grabbed her arm and pulled her into his lap.

"Th-this is n-not appropriate." She stuttered cringing.

"But you like it, don't you?" He asked roughly in her ear.

As soon as the pinkette looked up into his eyes he dipped down to her mouth and kissed her. It wasn't full of angst or frustration. It was full of tenderness and curiosity. Sasuke didn't part her lips, but simply rested his against hers while holding her head in one of his hands. When he didn't feel her resisting he left her lips to put his mouth on her forehead in the same manner.

" _Now_ you can bow to me and leave" he said with a smirk as his grip on her loosened and he helped her back onto her now unsteady feet.

Sakura did as he said with a flushed pink face and staggered like a drunk sailor back to her own room. Ino cut her to the chase when Sakura flopped right onto her bed and saw the blond staring at her from where she sat at Sakura's vanity table.

"Are you sick?" Ino asked as she loomed over Sakura's red face and put her hand on the pinkette's forehead.

"If love is a sickness, then I am terribly ill." She sighed as she kept replaying Sasuke's kiss over and over in her mind.

Ino retracted her hand and placed it on her hips as Sakura replaced it with the back of her own hand and continued to sigh and stare off into the distance at her ceiling.

"I'll be back tomorrow to take care of you, lovesick puppy." Ino joked as she shook her head and walked out of Sakura's room back to her own.

* * *

"Pass the rolls" Naruto grinned as he held out his hands.

Sakura just shook her head and smiled back at him and handed him the basket with the rolls. Ino's plate was full of just fruits which Sakura could assume that only meant she was on a crazy diet yet again. Over the past few weeks Sakura had grown closer to Ino. She couldn't explain what it was about the blond that made her an easy source to confide in and the easiest and only friend Sakura had ever made. The other reason Sakura had grown so close to the blond is because her etiquette classes were still in progress and she didn't know many of the other court ladies very well. Sasuke had also been very busy with his father doing delegation meetings with neighboring kingdoms and independent city-states in order to facilitate easier trade of certain goods. He wasn't even present at breakfast that morning because he had arrived late last night from a trip.

As soon as breakfast was done Sakura headed outside to see what all the fuss was about. Apparently there was a sporting event going on. Ino explained that it was supposed to celebrate the warrior heritage of Konoha. A man took the reigns of a horse while a lady rode side saddle on the same horse behind him with a bow and arrow and tried to shoot at a stationary target while the man rode by at a gallop. It was exceedingly hard and a lot of the girls missed.

Naruto approached Sakura as she watched with wanting eyes. It had been so long since she went hunting with Genma in the meadow behind her farm house that it was nostalgic watching them shoot.

"Would you like to try?" He asked her with his usual bright and cherry expression.

Sakura looked around a little nervous then asked, "What if I mess up?"

"I don't care." Naruto told her, "I'm not in it to win it. You've had some experience shooting a bow, right?"

Sakura blushed then said, "Maybe a little bit. I haven't done it on horseback before though…"

As soon as she climbed up on a horse and said she was ready to go, she turned her head expecting to see a bushy blond blue-eyed boy with a dopey smile. Instead she saw the back of a head covered in charcoal tresses and a smirking demeanor.

"S-sasuke!" she gasped more than a little surprised.

"Naruto didn't get here fast enough. You snooze you lose."

With that statement he snapped the reins and sent the horse galloping across a field. Sakura was flustered, but drew her bow at a horizontal angle aiming towards the wooden targets. She hit one's arm, another's leg and missed the last one. It wasn't a horrible score, but Sakura felt ashamed that she couldn't do better being partnered with the prince. Ultimately it was Hinata and Neji who won. The two of them were rumored to communicate telepathically because they were so close in blood and spirit.

Sakura was disappointed in herself as she saw a crown of flowers being placed on Hinata's head and a sash of leaves being placed around Neji's shoulder. Sakura promised herself that she would do better next time. Before she had a chance to apologize to Sasuke he grabbed her wrist and started dragging her quietly to a secluded area of the gardens. After five minutes of traveling through a maze of hedges and vines Sakura saw a small area of stone benches and tables that seemed to be a sitting area.

She looked at Sasuke with expectant eyes and then he began to take his tabard and chain vest off.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed as she looked away, "I missed you too, but!..."

Sasuke quirked a brow at her and stared confused until Sakura removed her hands from her eyes and looked at him. He seemed to be wanting something else than what Sakura was initially thinking.

"The salve?" He asked.

"Oh" she whispered embarrassed, "It right here."

She pulled it out of the sash of her dress and sat on the bench next to Sasuke's injured shoulder and applied yet another dose of the seemingly soothing and healing medicine. His shoulder had almost completely healed. The blisters were popped or had died back down, the dead skin was removed, and a lot of the tenderness was gone. Sakura did notice how it would leave a very light scar though.

"What's bothering you?" Sasuke asked reading Sakura's too soft expression. She seemed to have dulled a bit.

"Nothing" she replied with a forced smile.

Sasuke could tell she was lying through her teeth. There was something behind those sea-foam green eyes that was itching to escape. She figured that now was as good of a time as any.

"I-" she stood up and cleared her throat and faced Sasuke, "I- think I…"

Sasuke crossed his arms and had a curious expression as he waited for her to finish, if she ever did.

"I think I love you" she finally blurted out and then synched her eye lids closed so that she didn't have to see his expression which she was sure wouldn't be favorable towards her for boldly admitting such a thing.

"Hn" he told her as he stood up and faced her.

He took a few steps towards her until he'd backed her against a stone wall. He lifted her chin so that her pink face could meet his. His kiss this time was much different than the one before. It wasn't just curious, but also hungry. She felt her mouth practically being vacuumed up into his. His tongue ran in circles around her mouth until her lips parted accepting his advance. As soon as he delved his tongue inside her mouth he grabbed her waist with one hand and pressed her against him then grabbed the back of her neck with the other hand more firmly pressing her face to his. When they finally parted Sakura wasn't sure she could walk for a few minutes until she got her bearings. Sasuke was breathing relatively hard too when he wiped his mouth on his forearm before going back over to the bench and grabbing his tabard and chain vest. After dressing himself he bowed to her with a smirk and walked back out to the larger open field where celebrants were still enjoying the festivities.

Sakura remained in the small pocket garden for another ten minutes until her head stopped spinning and her heart stopped threatening to burst out of her chest. She wouldn't be able to be within fifteen feet of Sasuke after that if she hoped to keep her balance and stand up strait. She decided to just head back to her room for the remainder of the day and finish some of her crafts she'd been working on like a painting and a blanket Ino was teaching her to crochet.

* * *

"Teme where did you go? And where did Sakura go? Wasn't she with you?" Naruto asked each question in succession.

Sasuke quickly covered the blond's mouth and gave him a stern scowl. Naruto knew that as the universal shut-up signal when he got that expression from anyone. A few people had turned around hearing what Naruto had said and Sasuke waved a dismissive hand at them as they turned back around to watch the rest of the archery events.

"You shouldn't be so quick to say things like that. You know it's not appropriate."

"You still did it anyway, didn't you?" Naruto asked quietly.

"She only put salve on my shoulder for what's left of my burn."

"Booooooring" Naruto yawned as he folded his hands behind his head and walked towards the others in the crowd.

Sasuke just wiped a hand over his face hoping no one heard enough of what Naruto said to raise suspicion to the king and queen. That was the last thing he needed at this point. If his mother heard of him whisking Sakura away to secluded places she would instantly start ringing the steeple bells for a wedding. Sasuke didn't want to rush Sakura nor make her uncomfortable. She was still fragile at this point in time and was still hurting from her past.

* * *

Sakura heard a soft knock on her door before Ino invited herself in to sit with her. She watched Sakura carefully as she made each stitch. Ino noticed that Sakura's hands were shaking and her face was blood red.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Ino asked concerned slightly scooting away to give the pinkette some space.

Sakura instantly looked up and shook her head saying, "No! Not at all. It's just a little hot in here."

Ino raised her brow because the summer breeze had created a rather nice cool temperature. "Is it the room, or is it _you_?"

Sakura dropped what she was doing and started playing with her hands. She wasn't sure how to answer that rather direct question.

"Yes…" she answered

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, it's me."

Sakura then described her private meeting with the prince and everything that he had said to her which was really just to apply the medicine and then some grunting noise as acknowledgement of what she'd said. She then realized that she didn't know if that noise was meant as a good thing or a bad thing or if he felt bad for her or something. She suddenly began to doubt herself and her relationship with the prince. Ino then reprimanded her, reminding her that the prince didn't talk much to anyone else and he certainly wouldn't kiss and jam his tongue into someone's mouth whom he didn't care about that particular way.

Another knock was heard at the door, and a servant walked in. They bowed and announced that the queen would be entering the room. Both girls quickly rose to their feet with wide eyes and bowed before she had even entered the room. Mikoto smiled softly before patting each of them softly on the head telling them to relax. She had come on a casual whim and didn't need the reverence.

Ino wasn't sure if she had ever heard of a "casual" visit from anyone in the immediate royal family. Whatever Mikoto had come here to discuss was something of a big deal.

"Would you like me to leave, your majesty?" Ino asked quietly.

Mikoto shook her head then said, "Of course not. I have come to talk to Sakura, but you are welcome to stay too. You are her best friend, right? You might be able to help."

Ino perked up at the thought of being involved in something big, so she nodded with a smile and then sat on a sofa next to Sakura while Mikoto sat on a sofa opposite of them.

"I'm sure you know what this is about, right?" Mikoto asked with a friendly grin in order to ease Sakura's restlessness that was plastered all over her face and fidgeting fingers.

Sakura nodded and Ino sat still knowing as well why Mikoto had probably come here. The queen took a few moments with her soft smile before speaking again.

"As you know, my husband and I won't live forever. Our son will take the throne at some point in time, and he will need a queen."

Ino was itching with excitement as she listened intently.

"I would really like you to be the one that's by his side" she stated, "But… unfortunately my husband doesn't see it that way. He doesn't see you as a strong woman who has carried on despite having nothing. You keep going forward by clinging to what hope of happiness you have left, which I'm assuming is my son."

Sakura nodded with tears welling in her eyes thinking she was about to receive the rejection of a lifetime and be barred from ever being together with Sasuke.

"However there is a way around this. If you show my husband your usefulness, he will probably disregard the fact that you aren't born of a noble family and then you will be free to marry my son if Sasuke wishes, which just so you know, he wishes to very much. The night you came here he asked to court you, and I had to persuade Fugaku, but he's a hard headed man. He's set on Sasuke marrying someone like Ino or Hinata, since they come from wealthy families and would continue their loyalty to cooperating with us. I think marriage should be driven from love. Cooperation and obedience should be driven from good diplomacy and politics."

Sakura sat in silence, stunned. She felt like she was still being rejected and that there was no way for her to prove her usefulness.

"There is an open tournament, for a position of general in the army. You would be one of five generals that report directly to the king. Since they've finished their journey for diplomatic relations we have a few places we know won't cooperate with us, so we're taking them over by militant force. While I know that this might seem harsh it's a reality for all kingdoms. The campaign will begin in three months. The try out for general is in one month. Please prepare and I would like you to try out. Women are not barred from the military here, however very few take up arms."

"I'm so frail and weak, how on earth could I do anything like that?"

"Your bow" Mikoto began. "I saw the way you held your bow. It was very unorthodox holding it horizontally and almost diagonally. However you shot almost as well as the winner. It shows that you learn skills on your own through talent. You are very talented with military arts. You just have to allow yourself to explore them."

Sakura nodded still looking at her hands then asked, "How am I supposed to learn? I have no weapons, no training, no teacher…"

"I can't provide you with much… but there is a training grounds I can show you. There's an indoor sparing space or you can just practice your form if no one is there, and then there's a target range outside for archery. There are countless weapons as well inside the store house to the side of the sparing space. Unfortunately I can't provide you with a teacher because no one is to know we had this conversation. My husband would be quite mad if he found out I put you up to this to win him over. I expect both of you are on my side and will remain quiet about it?"

Both girls nodded vigorously before standing and bowing to the queen as she left.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

"She _what?_ " Sasuke asked in disbelief as he heard Neji tell him that Sakura was in the gymnasia trying to practice her weapons skills.

Sasuke wasn't sure why she had suddenly taken an interest in martial arts, but he knew that he didn't want her hurting herself. He had to talk her out of this insanity. A lady of the court was also not supposed to participate in anything besides archery if she wanted to still be considered a "lady." He walked across the training ground fields into the giant stone building that was their armory and indoor training facility. He saw sakura there on the slick rock flooring trying to train with what looked like a wooden sword.

"Your form is wrong." He said grabbing her attention and widened eyes, "Your foot is crooked, your stance is too high, your swings are un-controlled and your shoulders are slouched."

Sakura put the sword down and bowed to him. Sasuke walked up to her and picked up her wooden sword and handed it back to her.

"If…" she began while he was walking back to where he was before, "If I'm so bad, why don't you teach me?"

"I will not teach a woman how to weild a sword."

"I thought women here were historically warriors."

"They used bows and arrows. They fought from a safe distance. If I allow you to use a sword you will be in combat where I can't guarantee your safety."

"What if I end up in close combat, isn't it important that I know how to defend myself?"

"If someone were to try and get that close to you then I expect you to run to safety. I see that look in your eyes and if I teach you, you won't use it as self defense. You'll go head first into battle and end up getting yourself killed, and I won't allow that. Not that you should even be concerned with matters of war anyway. You're a duchess."

"Why not allow me to fight?"

"I took it upon myself to take responsibility for your safety."

"I have to learn!" she shouted and started to cry, "Or I'll never make it through the general competition…"

Sasuke's eyes widened immediately as he stood to face her and very angrily grunted, "You will _not_ enter that tournament! They either end with the loser badly injured and sometimes even killed. The victor is usually battered up as well."

"But if I don't prove myself then-"

"Who are you trying to prove yourself to?!" he asked her angrily as he walked towards her and took the wooden sword out of her hands, "I already care about you! Is that not enough?!"

Sakura was taken aback at Sasuke's sudden confession. She hadn't expected him to reciprocate her feelings so soon. She quietly took a step back from him and folded her hands in front of her.

"I… I have to prove myself to your father. Otherwise he will never accept our marriage…"

"You're not even ready to be married yet." He told her softening his voice just a little.

"Yes I am! I'm a woman! and I've fallen in love with you!"

"You are still hurting."

"Not as much, and what better way to fix the pain then finding happiness with someone who's alive and there with you…"

"I'll think about what you've said about marriage, but I absolutely do not want you trying out for that general's position. I don't know what you think you have to do to get my father's approval, but I will not sit by and watch you get hurt."

Sakura took her wooden sword back from Sasuke and watched him as he quietly left the gymnasia and left her once more in the cold stone building.

* * *

"How was practice?" Ino asked while dressing some of Sakura's self inflicted wounds.

"Sasuke came to see me…" she said, "He wasn't happy."

Ino sighed, "Of course not. You're battering your body senseless. I wouldn't be particularly happy with you either if I were him. You're a lady, while I'm supporting you through this because of the exceptional circumstances, I wouldn't ordinarily condone this kind of thing. Try to understand that where you came from and where you are, are two completely different situations."

As soon as Ino had finished her statement a servant came in and said that Naruto would be coming inside. Sakura quickly pulled her tunic back on and both girls sat on her bed as they watched the other blond walk inside.

"Sakura!" He exclaimed with a smile then the smile faded as he saw the battered girl with her bandages, "So it's true. You really are training."

Ino looked down at the floor as if she didn't have a part in any of this, and Sakura glanced at her friend then down at the floor as well before looking back up at Naruto.

"Is anyone even helping you?" he asked confused.

Sakura shook her head then said, "Sasuke won't teach me to use a sword, because he says I'll be reckless."

"You're reckless anyway" Naruto snorted, "He won't teach you, yet you're still going to try and do this."

Sakura shrugged then said, "If I have to prove myself, then I don't have much of a choice."

"Then let me teach you" Naruto offered, "You can't tell Sasuke cause he'd kick my ass, but I think what you're doing is great, and it's not fair for everyone to just let you flounder like a fish out of water when you're putting out this much effort. Meet me at the gymnasia tomorrow at 5am. Nobody will be awake for hours before then."

Sakura was excited to finally get some direction so she nodded and bowed to Naruto telling him how much she appreciated his offer to help her. Naruto did a small bow in return before leaving their room and heading back to Sasuke's.

* * *

Several weeks went by and Sakura could slowly see her body changing. He soft skin had a sheen of tan to it and her arms and legs were firmer and her stomach was completely flat with no sign of flab. She also didn't feel tired after each training session anymore. Naruto was proud of his handy work.

"Want to try sparing?" he suggested as he grabbed two wooden swords, "We won't swing hard, this is just to test your form. Hopefully I won't bruise you."

Sakura smirked a little before charging at Naruto and going strait for his legs. He quickly jumped up before landing a soft smack on her head from above, "stay focused, your eyes need to be on your enemy's at all times!"

Sakura then tried to spin around and hit him as he landed, Naruto absorbed the blow and congratulated her. Then he took a swing at her and she jumped up on a nearby retaining wall, "Never let your enemy get the high ground, right?" She joked.

Naruto goofily grinned as he said, "you sure learn fast, don't you, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura returned to her room after her training session, exhausted from the extra sparing match. She didn't even bother taking off her clothes, she just flopped on her bed and blacked out. She was startled when she saw a dark figure in her room nudging her shoulder, which was sore, and trying to get her attention.

"Ino?" she asked groggily.

"No" came a grunt.

Sakura immediately shot up out of her bed and nearly climbed up the canopy to the ceiling from being startled. That voice could only belong to one person, Sasuke.

"Wha-what are you doing in here?!" she asked confused trying not to shout from fright.

"Calm down, Ino asked me to take care of your training injuries until the tournament. She went with Shikamaru to his villa where his parents are outside the city. They'll be back a day before the tournament, but until then you're my problem, so more people don't find out what you're doing."

"So for a week I'm going to have to wake up like this?"

"You fell asleep early, how is that my fault?"

Sasuke got up and lit a few candles around her room in order to illuminate it so he wasn't just a shadowy figure anymore, but a person with a face. Sakura calmed her breathing now able to see around her room and realize she wasn't hallucinating. However she felt a new jolt of fear as Sasuke started tugging at her clothes.

She almost shrieked until Sasuke covered her mouth and told her, "I'm trying to treat your wounds, not take advantage of you."

Sakura breathed back out but then tried to cover her chest as she said, "You're a man! Even if it's just to treat my wounds showing you my body is… awkward."

Sasuke then leaned in closer to her face and asked, "Then what can i do to make it _less_ awkward?"

Sakura was about to draw away from the prince, but he was so alluring that she magnetically felt drawn to his lips as he pressed his face to hers. He reached up and cupped her cheek as he continued to kiss her, becoming more passionate with each time they parted for air.

He then slowly started to climb onto the bed until he was on his hands and knees on top of her, "Is it still awkward?" he asked with their noses touching.

"No" Sakura answered breathily as she tried to raise her head up to kiss him once more.

Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down as he said, "If we continue I won't be able to control myself any longer. Are you ok with that?"

"You said you loved me, right?" Sakura asked, "If you do, then my body is yours."

Sasuke began to slowly take her tunic off as she reached up for his white ruffle-collared shirt. Reaching for her chest he noticed all the bandages and slowly began to take them off and kiss the bruises and cuts underneath. Sakura felt small twinges of pain, but it was nothing compared to the pleasure of having Sasuke touch and kiss every battered part of her body. After they were both naked Sakura began to fidget and act very confused. Sasuke looked at her with raised brows and somewhat squinted eyes as if to ask what was wrong. Was he going too fast? He had just asked her if it was ok...

"I… I don't know what to do next." Sakura confessed as she put her hands over her face.

Sasuke took one of her wrists and moved her hand off of her face while looming above her then asked, "You mean, you don't know how to have sex, or what?"

Sakura shook her head whimpering, "My parents didn't tell me, and no one here has told me anything about it. So I really don't know."

Sasuke was baffled that Sakura had no idea what it was they were doing. He leaned down close next to her ear then said "I can show you better than I can tell you."

Sakura hitched her breath at the feel of his hot mouth close to the skin of her neck.

"You might want to hold onto my shoulders" he suggested, "I've heard for girls that the first time is a little, rough…"

Sakura gulped in fear and anticipation as she reached up and put her hands on Sasuke's back and shoulder blades. Only seconds later she felt like someone had stabbed her between the legs which made her let out a small gasp of sheer pain as she dug her nails into Sasuke's skin. She squirmed and arched her back trying to make the sharp burning sensation stop but ultimately she just had to wait a few minutes in order for the pleasure of Sasuke's thrusting to really be noticeable. As soon as the pain subsided she was able to arch her back in a different way indicating her wanting more. She mewled softly and moaned a little, which was Sasuke's indicator that she wasn't in a lot of pain anymore. As he continued to slowly move inside of her, he planted kisses down from her forehead to her cheek, neck, and collar bone. He even began to softly suck on and lick one of her nipples. He noticed how her breasts were especially sensitive. He massaged the other one in his hand and watched as she bit her lip to keep from moaning too much and thrusted herself upwards to him. As soon as he saw her arch her back and lift her breasts up to the moonlight he couldn't wait any longer and his volcano erupted inside of her. He hovered over her while they both stayed there, motionless.

"With what we just did" he said breathing heavily in her ear, "You _will_ be my wife now."

Sakura tried to keep her head from spinning as she sat up and saw the mess of Sasuke's seed mixed with small streaks of blood that she assumed came from inside of her being ripped open. As soon as she saw the blood her mind instantly remembered that it was in pain and Sakura felt a burning between her legs that was less than pleasurable.

"A bath should help" Sasuke said, Looking at the slightly pained expression she had looking between her legs, "It'll be good for your bruises too."

He lifted Sakura up off the bed bridal style and set her down in the tub of water that was already prepared with medicinal herbs and oils. Sasuke lit the fire beneath the tub and was about to leave the bathroom when he heard a splash and the pinkette was right behind him. She had grabbed onto his arm with her wet hands.

"Please… stay."

Sasuke looked at her with slanted eyes at first then softened as he saw her naked battered body gripping onto his. He had his share of battle wounds too, but his body was already solid as steel so it didn't affect him as much or cause him as much pain. Sakura was just starting her training and she was fragile like porcelain.

"Fine" he answered her as he lifted her back up so she was straddling his hips before sitting down in the tub with her on his lap facing him.

They sat there facing each other for a while before Sakura leaned down to kiss him. She truly couldn't use words to describe her immense nose dive into love with this strange and rather aloof man. All she could truly say was that he seemed to return her feelings, which made her incredibly happy. After Sasuke widened his legs a little, he turned sakura around and began to wash her back, trying to rub the oils in the bath water into her skin to help heal her faster.

"You seem more beaten up today than usual" he commented, "what did you do?"

"I just spent more time than usual training, trying to build up my endurance." Sakura lied.

She felt bad for being dishonest with Sasuke, but at the same time she couldn't rat Naruto out since he was the only one helping her to improve her skills before the tournament in a week's time.

"So even though I still will make you my wife, you really want to go through with the tournament?"

"I have to prove myself to your father. Although you don't think it's justified through what we just did and the way we feel, and that he will change his mind, I want his approval, not just his tolerance."

It then occurred to Sasuke what she was trying to say the time before when he'd first caught her training in the gymnasia. He felt bad for refusing to help her, but he thought that she would change her mind and decide not to participate if she didn't feel prepared. However she was hellbent on proving her worthiness of him even if that meant beating herself senseless until she was strong enough to stand beside him.

"You don't have to do this you know?" He whispered softly into her shoulder blades, "I can just make a new general position for you as leader of the archers and you can prove yourself that way. There are other women in the archery infantry too, so you wouldn't be 'alone' so to speak. Just _please,_ don't do this. Don't enter the tournament."

"You don't think I can win, do you?" she asked a little upset that Sasuke didn't believe in her.

He raised his head a little resting his chin on her shoulder as he explained, "I don't know if you will or won't, I just can't stand to see others hit you and watch you get battered after you already have gotten beaten up badly once before. It brings back those horrible memories of me pulling you out of that box half dead. I don't ever want to see you like that again."

Sakura understood where he was coming from, but she couldn't take the easy road. If she earned position as general of the archers then fine, but she wasn't going to let Sasuke hand it to her for the sake of her not getting injured or doing her best to climb up the social ladder herself.

After their skin started to prune the two of them got out of the bath tub and dried off. Sasuke was walking back into the bedroom to gather his clothes and leave when Sakura once again begged him to stay.

"You know what people will say if they find out I was in here for the night, right?"

"I don't care" she almost cried, "I want you. All of you. As much time as you'll give me."

Sasuke thought for a moment and agreed. At this point he wanted Sakura to be his wife, and he didn't care if the whole castle knew he was sleeping with her. It would just give his father more incentive to let them get married. Sasuke left his clothes off and pulled the pinkette into bed next to him and both of them spooned until Sakura was lulled to sleep by the melodic sound of Sasuke's breath in her ear.

* * *

Morning came and the temple bells were chiming. Sakura sat up and saw that there were wrinkles in the bed sheets beside her. She ran her hand over where it was and felt the warmth that lingered.

"Was it even real?" she asked aloud while clutching the sheets to her chest.

As soon as the words left her mouth Sasuke walked out of her bathroom in his clothes from last night and looked at her with a blank face, "You'll be late" he grunted, "Try not to get locked up in the back this time."

Sakura just stared in awe at the prince as he walked outside of her bedroom quietly leaving her alone to her thoughts. The pinkette was desperately trying to fix her hair. Ino would normally be there to her rescue, however the blond was away for now. Sakura did some semblance of a side braid though she noted it wasn't nearly as good as the way her friend made it.

Sakura would be lying if she said she wasn't lonely in temple. Ino always sat next to her and this morning the cushion beside her was empty. It was so hard with how lonely she felt to keep from looking in the prince's direction, but if she were to get caught again then she was afraid the consequences would be even worse than before. She managed to sit through temple a few times with Ino without looking at the men. Having her friend to make funny face at each other with was a lot easier than sitting in complete silence like she was supposed to be doing anyway.

When the service concluded Sakura stood up and slowly started to walk to the temple doors, until a hand grabbed her arm. "Wait" came a voice behind her.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

"Wait" a voice behind her beckoned.

Sakura was still at the familiar voice, but with a different tone. She turned around to see Itachi holding onto her elbow with a face that was unreadable. If it weren't for the fact that Sasuke was watching intently from a distance, Sakura would probably have been incredibly scared. The notorious older brother was known to cause chaos and trouble which is why Sasuke was the crown prince. It wasn't that Itachi was a bad person more than he was irresponsible.

"What do you see in him?" Itachi asked nodding his head towards the other brooding royal in the room.

Sakura took a moment to think before stuttering, "I d-don't really kn-know yet…"

Itachi smirked before letting go of her arm and exiting the temple. Sakura was surprised that no one around seemed to acknowledge what had happened except for Sasuke. The temple monks turned a blind eye to a man laying hands on another woman even though men and women during the service are not even supposed to even look at each other.

"I apologize for my older brother's aggression. He doesn't mean any harm, he's just curious. He just finds this situation, amusing." Sasuke explained as he gestured that they walk towards the door to the back area of the temple.

Sakura was wondering why she was being led further back instead of out into the courtyard with everyone else. When she saw a monk sitting next to a bowl of incense with ritual items laying around she had a slight idea.

"Iroku" Sasuke said the man's name, "Are you ready?"

The monk smiled then said, "If a certain prince hadn't interrupted me I could've been. Give me a moment to meditate and then we shall begin."

Sasuke gestured for Sakura to sit on the tatami mats across from the monk, next to himself. Sakura was very curious as to what was going on, but she decided that it was best if she kept quiet.

"Yes" the monk said plainly finally opening his eyes and looking at Sasuke a few minutes later, "I can do it now if that is what you wish, but once I tell you what i see it cannot be forgotten."

Sasuke nodded then took Sakura's hand and placed it in his own before letting Iroku hold onto both their wrists. The monk was extraordinarily quiet as he seemed to be watching the inside of his eyelids like a play or production, or reading them like you would a book.

"You two will both make very powerful rulers, however if you wish to live in peace there is something each of you must conquer together. In your reign there will be a great evil that roars like thunder and will roll over the land like wildfire, and you must rise taller than the clouds to strike it down. An ultimate sacrifice will be made in order to restore balance to the kingdom. Death."

"Thank you" Sasuke grunted as he let go of Sakura's hand and handed the monk a gourd of sake as well as a few silver coins.

"I'm humbled by your generosity, your majesty" the monk smiled laughingly and accepted the gifts.

Sasuke nodded then bent down to help Sakura to stand back up off the tatami mats and led her back out to the main area of the temple where he found a rather disgruntled Fugaku and a fidgety, excited Mikoto.

"What do you think you were doing?" Fugaku scowled looking back and forth between his son and the pinkette, "What did you have Iroku do this time?"

Sasuke gestured for Sakura to stay where she was as he traveled down the steps the rest of the way to his father and said, "Iroku saw our future together. He said that both of us are suited for each other and that this kingdom needs her in order to face a terrible threat. Sakura will be by my side and face it with me. Therefore I ask you to let her be my wife."

"I will make her your betrothed," Fugaku stated, "But the wedding won't happen until my say so, consider this generous. That woman has no noble blood and has done nothing for you or this kingdom besides have a broken past and earn the prince's pity."

"Fugaku!" Mikoto chided her husband, giving him a harsh expression.

"No" came a small voice from behind Sasuke, "He's right."

Sakura had slowly plodded down the steps to stand behind Sasuke and continued to speak, "I have done nothing but bathe in riches and admire a life I didn't earn and wasn't born into. It's only right I do something to repay your kindness."

Fugaku raised his brow then asked, "And how do you propose to do that?"

Sakura bit her lip and looked down telling her future father in law, "You will see me at the general try outs in a few weeks."

Fugaku's face resembled one of surprise, but not disgust or distain at the pinkette's mention of trying out for the open position of general. She didn't try to automatically receive a position, which Sasuke could have offered her. Instead she was trying to claw up by her own strength.

"Some of the best fighters in the kingdom are coming, you do realize that, right?" Fugaku grunted.

Sakura nodded then said, "Please do not look on me with favor over the others. I want to earn the position."

"Very well" Fugaku rumbled, "I will see you in a few weeks time. I look forward to seeing what military skills you have to offer me."

Sakura bowed deeply as she watched the king walk away with the queen on his arm. Mikoto looked back over her shoulder to give Sakura a sympathetic look. Fugaku was not the easiest man to get along with. He didn't exactly radiate warmth and kindness.

"Even though you just saw my father betroth us, you still want to go through with the tournament?" Sasuke asked in almost disbelief. It seemed that nothing he tried was good enough for her.

"You heard him. He won't marry us until I prove myself. This tournament is how I prove myself."

Sasuke just ran a hand over his face as he told her, "Come with me."

He grabbed her hand and led her away back inside the castle to a small vault that was seemingly heavily guarded. All the walls, cases, shelves, and displays were covered in jewelry. Sasuke gestured for her to look around as he told her "pick one as your betrothal present. Pick whichever you like."

Sakura was uncertain looking around at all the tokens, all of them with the Uchiha crest. They all seemed so expensive, even priceless, and she definitely couldn't wear them while training.

"I want these" she said as she picked up beautiful leather wrist guards with the family crest burned into them. They snapped on perfectly to her dainty arms and she was able to move freely in them.

"With all the fine jewelry in here, you chose a piece of armor?" Sasuke asked her skeptically.

"It's what I want" she told him.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes as he explained to her, "As a matter of fact those bracers belonged to the wife of the first king of Konoha. Her name was Amaterasu."

Sakura looked at the bracers in a different light. They were no longer a fine piece of armor, but a treasured heirloom. Happy with her choice, Sakura left with Sasuke back out of the treasurey. The two of them walked back to Sakura's room and Sasuke instructed her to change into the armor he'd left for her on her bed. For the time being she'd been practicing in her farm rags that had survived from Genma keeping her luggage until he'd seen her again to burry her parents. However when she looked on her bed she was greeted with a very different set of clothes. There were black pants made of silk that came down to her knees, which she thought was rather scandalous until she realized it was practical for combat in order to be mobile and uninhibited. Then there was a red tabard outlined in white as well. She put the clothes on then walked back out of her room to meet Sasuke. He nodded in approval as he took her hand and led her down a hallway towards Tsunade's clinic.

"Wait" Sakura told him, "I'm not injured yet, and I have to go train soon or-" she stopped herself.

"Or Naruto won't be there? You think I didn't know you were training with him? You both are so easy to read."

Sakura blushed with embarrassment as she walked into the clinic with Sasuke. Tsunade looked at both intruders with a raised brow in silence.

"Teach her" came Sasuke's rather impertinent command.

"Out of all the things you've ordered of me," Tsunade grumbled, "This one I cannot do."

"Why not?" Sasuke asked sourly.

Tsunade pinched the skin between her eyes as she answered, "Because I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work. Medics cannot ordinarily heal themselves, not easily."

"Please try and teach me shishou" Sakura asked as she bowed hoping to get in Tsunade's good graces.

"Tomorrow at dawn, be here."

Sakura nodded as she looked up at Sasuke wondering why it is he wanted her to learn healing. It was a magical practice that a lot of people were incapable of doing and one of science's unexplained mysteries.

"Learn everything you can from her" Sasuke told Sakura, "It will put you ahead of the other competitors because healing is a rare quality that is highly valued in a combat situation. When we go to war, Tsunade would come with us. Otherwise that's why she's here at the castle. Healing also puts you away from the front lines and out of direct fire."

Sakura rolled her eyes at Sasuke's relentless desire for her to be at a distance and stand behind him. She had been standing behind him and his generosity for too long. She thought it was about time that she earned her stay.

* * *

"I hope you're ready for this" Tsunade told sakura as she laid out supplies on the table in the clinic, "You're going to start on simple creatures, like this fish."

Sakura nodded as Tsunade instructed her on what to do with her hands and how to manipulate and move her chakra/energy to pinpoint vital organs and boost the body's natural metabolic response and healing time. Sakura also learned how to use her hands as scalpels with the same energy control. After Sakura had managed to resuscitate a fish, Tsunade then moved on to trying to teach Sakura how to heal her own injuries. Tsunade was glad that Sakura didn't have to create injuries herself since there were already so many that were slowly trying to heal on her body. Sakura, try as she might, was hardly able to get her body to respond to her own energy manipulation. Several more days followed and Tsunade noticed how the pinkette had nearly perfect chakra control, but lacked conviction and urgency in her healing. Therefore her body's response was relaxed as well resulting in no visible results and immediate healing of her wounds.

Tsunade knew there would be repercussions from what she was about to do, but decided to do it anyway. Life was about sinking or swimming and it was about time Sakura experienced that sensation.

"Come here" Tsunade told Sakura as she motioned for the girl to come closer.

With a concealed knife Tsunade quickly sliced the unsuspecting girl's wrist open causing blood to flood the wooden floor from her artery.

"Heal it or bleed out" Tsunade instructed calmly, "You lack intensity in what you do and it makes your body not respond the way that it should. Now that you have a reason to panic and heal with a sense of urgency, it should work."

Sakura looked wide eyed at the woman as if she were crazy and immediately Sakura tried to focus her energy but it was coming out in frazzled sparks and spurts instead of a steady stream.

"You have to remain calm" Tsunade added.

Sakura rolled her eyes. It was easy for her to stay calm since her artery wasn't just cut open to bleed all over the floor. Sasuke had specifically requested that she learn this form of healing, but she was pretty sure that he didn't have this kind of training in mind.

Sakura took a deep breath as she felt her coherency fading and her body slowly numbing from the blood loss. She was finally able to close up the artery itself, but was unable to close the rest of her wrist. As soon as the pinkette had successfully closed the artery she fell to the floor and Tsunade healed the rest of her wound and put her on a hospital bed. She knew that prince wasn't going to be happy about it, but it was the only way Tsunade could think of to force the girl into being able to have that ability.

Lo and behold, not much later the raven haired man came in,I in the afternoon while Sakura was still passed out. He came to check how the training was going and was surprised to see the pinkette laying in a bed as pale as the sheets she was in, and Tsunade on all fours scrubbing blood out of the floor. Sasuke immediately made the connection and glared daggers at the blond woman.

"She had to learn some how and finally after nearly three days we had some success. The general try outs are in two weeks Sasuke, she needs more than a gentle push at this point if she has any hope of succeeding."

Sasuke knew that Tsunade was right, but it didn't make him feel any better. He picked the girl up bridal style and carried her back to her own room to rest for the remainder of the day. When she awoke she put a hand to her head and groaned.

"You lost a lot of blood" Sasuke told her, "It's best if you just lay down."

Sakura put a hand over her eyes to block the remainder of the sunset coming through her window. She felt as if she'd been binge drinking just hours ago. Her headache was horrendous, and she knew Sasuke was sure to contribute to that.

"I have to go train" she groaned, "I'm not ready."

Sasuke kept his hand on her shoulder, pinning her to the bed while he sat by her side and grunted, "No. You have to rest for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow you can train. _I'll_ even train you."

Sakura was tempted by Sasuke's offer and decided to lay back on her bed and close her eyes. She breathed deeply, still sensing Sasuke was sitting by her side. She turned to him and reopened her eyes.

"Why are you still here?" she asked a little confused.

Sasuke quirked his brow then replied, "I suppose I should go on and lave then-"

"I didn't mean it that way…" Sakura mumbled defensively holding onto Sasuke's arm.

Sasuke smirked before continuing, "I have to attend a meeting in a few hours. It's likely we'll declare war. If it weren't for that I would lay here with you."

Sakura looked somber at the thought of Sasuke leaving her side for a while, but relieved that it wasn't because of what she had said. Nodding her approval, Sakura tried to grin as Sasuke stood up from sitting on her bed. He planted a kiss on her hand before turning around and walking through her door, closing it behind him.

* * *

"What happened?!" Ino asked frantically as she walked into Sakura's room and saw her friend laying in bed in a cold sweat and pale as a ghost, "I come back early and you're almost dead again!"

"Ino…" Sakura grumbled as her friend scrambled around for medical supplies to further treat the wound on Sakura's wrist.

"I thought you were training, not getting executed."

Sakura twitched her lips in a half smile as she replied, "You're not the only one who thought that."

Ino just shook her head as she finished bandaging the wound on Sakura's wrist after applying her own special salve.

"I think you should stay in bed the rest of the day…" Ino sighed holding a hand up as Sakura was about to talk back, "Please, just don't, for tonight just rest. You've been going non stop since you had your heart set on the general's tournament. Even if you weren't wounded I would say it's a good idea to just take one day off and rest."

Sakura breathed a sigh of frustration as she slumped back in her bed and pulled the covers over her head to avoid looking at Ino. The blond just crossed her arms and scowled at the gesture, but left the room to let her friend continue resting. The pinkette felt her body shake a little at the damage that had been done to her. She hadn't felt this tired since when she first came to the castle after losing everything. Involuntarily falling unconscious she soon felt the world around her go to a peaceful black.

Later that evening Sasuke left the war meeting and headed to Sakura's room, it was just past dinner and he assumed she would still be awake. When he walked down the hall he saw a maid slowly slipping out of her room with a tray and stopped to ask her what was going on.

"Lady Yamanaka asked that I bring Lady Haruno some dinner since she was incapacitated and unable to come to the meal with everyone else in the dining hall. However the lady was still sleeping when I entered so I thought it best to let her rest."

"Give that to me" Sasuke asked as he held his hands out for the tray.

The maid gave him a weary look but acquiesced and carefully handed him the tray with the food for the pinkette and scurried down he hall no doubt to her next task. Sasuke entered the room silently and set the tray down on the end table by her bed and pulled a wooden chair by the window up next to her bed and straddled it while resting his arms on the back of it. Silently watching the pinkette as she slept Sasuke let his mind wander until his thoughts were interrupted when the girl finally began to stir. Sasuke saw her slowly turning and her almost completely closed eyes slowly drooping open to look at him.

"Sasuke…" she whispered, "I don't feel so good…"

The raven haired man knew she was hellbent on training even after she lost practically two liters of blood. For her to acknowledge she doesn't feel good she must've been in pain. Sakura cringed as she tried to move her arm. Sasuke stood and leaned over the bed to her arm on the opposite side of her from him, and slowly unraveled Ino's bandage to see that the wound on her wrist was seeping and turning a dark shade of red and purple. He instantly scowled and summoned a servant outside the door to immediately get Tsunade from wherever she was because it was urgent. The blond medical magic user walked into the room not long after the summon was sent and didn't bother acknowledging the prince as she swooped to Sakura's side to examine her wrist.

"Poison" she said monotonously as she scowled at the wound, "It looks like it was this poultice."

Sasuke looked at the paste and instantly recognized it at the paste that was always on Sakura's body after Ino had treated her wounds. It was Ino's salve she used to help heal Sakura's wounds, but why would it have cause her wound to become infected this time?

"Please stay with her, I'm going to go investigate something."

Tsunade nodded as she kneeled down to open the medical kit she'd brought with her to try and drain some of the infection of the wound draw the poison out before it got too intwined in her bloodstream.

* * *

"M'lady, the crown prince is here to see you."

Ino looked up to her door maid with a raised brow as the prince came in soon after his presence was announced to her. She stood and bowed as was customary but couldn't help but feel that this visit was not a benevolent one due to the grave look on Sasuke's face.

"Your salve" he stated blankly, "What's in it?"

"Just some medicinal herbs from the garden with antibacterial properties and a few with numbing qualities in order to help ease the pain of bruising and what not. Why?"

"Your salve you put on Sakura's wrist, poisoned her."

Ino's eyes went wild in shock as she immediately went over to her chest where she pulled the salve out of a cloth and smelled it and rubbed it between her fingers.

"Someone put an oil in here… but I don't know what it is…"

Sasuke looked at Ino skeptically as he said, "Your family are some of the most accomplished botanists in this kingdom, figure it out, or I'll assume it was you who poisoned my fiancé and there will be consequences."

"I didn't do it!" she shouted, "You know I've done nothing but care for her! Why would I ever do this to her? I want her to participate in those tryouts, even though it isn't considered conventional or appropriate. I think it will be good for her and help her accept herself."

Sasuke didn't reply to Ino's words as he turned on his heel and walked out of her chambers closing the door a little harder behind him than what was necessary. He walked back down the hall a few doors into Sakura's room where he saw Tsunade draining pus from Sakura's wound.

"I can heal it some and take some of the poison out of her system, but it will take her at least two or three days to recover enough to start her training again. It will put her at a significant disadvantage."

Sasuke ran a frustrated hand over his face as he sat back in the chair by her bed and watched Tsunade work while Sakura's face was covered in sweat as she tossed and turned.

"Excuse me your highness and Doctor, the queen is here."

Sasuke stood to greet his mother with a rather surprised and confused expression.

"I thought you'd be here" she said as she cupped her son's face lovingly with her hand, "I heard from a servant that Sakura was ill. I know you feel that you have to stay here with her, but please be mindful of her reputation. I know she's sick, but you can't stay here in her chambers all night like you did before."

"How could you possibly know that?" he asked with a quirked brow.

"You forget the servants exist sometimes dear, they hear and see everything, including when you walked out of her room at 8am one morning partially disheveled."

Sasuke mildly blushed then replied, "Well if I can't stay here, she'll come with me to my room. I can't leave her here, and someone's poisoned her. I don't trust anyone but Tsunade to touch her right now."

Mikoto heaved a sigh, her son was so stubborn just like his father, "Please understand that doing these things will not make your father take action and marry you two. It will only end in an unfavorable social situation for Sakura. Some of the girls here have already come to me thinking that I need to take disciplinary actions for Sakura so 'boldly' courting you."

Sasuke looked forlornly at the pinkette in her bed then turned back to his mother, "I won't change my mind."

Mikoto simply huffed and shook her head before thanking Tsunade and leaving the room.

"Your mother's right, you know." Tsunade chimed in after a few moments of silence, "I see your point and it is well enough you intend to nurse her back to health, but the fact remains that since you are two different genders, insinuations will be made about you two, if they haven't been made already."

"Let them talk" he grunted, "That's all anyone in the castle does. Nobody ever takes action."

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

Sakura awoke fairly groggy as she tossed and turned on the silk sheets. Silk? Her sheets were a blend of cotton and soft linen. She then opened her eyes despite their protest, and she found herself in coal-black sheets of silk in a dimly lit room she didn't recognize. Surprisingly she felt the sheets first, but then she felt a presence behind her and she turned over to see Sasuke laying in the bed next to her. She sat up alarmed and tried to quietly slip out of the bed in order to gather some things form around the room she could see were hers and make her way back to her own room. However as soon as she was about to slide off the bed Sasuke awoke and instinctively grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto the bed. With a slight yelp of surprise Sakura was pulled under Sasuke as he hovered over her running a hand across her forehead and cheeks, and checking her arm. She was still burning up with a fever, and her arm looked better, but not by much since he last laid eyes on it earlier that night.

"Wh-what are you-"

"You were poisoned, by someone here in the castle. We don't have any idea who, but it's obviously someone who doesn't want you to participate in the general tryouts. I wasn't comfortable leaving you alone in your room where someone could slip in and finish the job."

"But…" she panted in disbelief but saw the evidence on her wrist, "How?…"

Sasuke grabbed her wrist to further look at it as he grimly explained, "After Tsunade had wounded your wrist and you partially healed the majority of the wound, Ino had given you her poultice to help heal it like she'd done to all your other wounds. Whoever poisoned you had been watching you and knew about her medicine. According to her after she looked further at it, she said someone had slipped a poisonous oil into it. Therefore Ino unknowingly administered the poison herself. I'm still not convinced it isn't her regardless.

"Ino would never" Sakura grunted at Sasuke, "She's been my only friend in this giant cage."

"I'm not your friend?" Sasuke asked with his feelings a little hurt but shadowing it with some of his anger, "The place you're privileged to live in is now a cage?"

Sakura looked away from Sasuke's face as she struggled to slip out from under him on the bed then said, "It's my personal reason for signing up for the try outs. I want to get out of here, see things, do things, be more than eye candy to the men here in the castle."

Sasuke rolled off of her and sat up on his side of the bed and rested one of his arms on his knees as the other hand was used to wipe some of the sweat off of his face from sleeping next to another person that was as hot as a furnace. Sakura took this time to sit up herself and look at Sasuke in the candle light. She blushed realizing he was shirtless. He had some silk pants on but that seemed to be it. She then noticed herself that she was dressed in similar attire in nothing but a breezy black silk gown, with nothing on underneath. Her face turned blood red at the realization she'd been undressed and re dressed while unconscious.

"Um…" she fidgeted uncomfortably, "How did… I get dressed in this?…"

" _You_ didn't get dressed in it" Sasuke answered saucily, " _I_ dressed you in it."

Sakura slapped her hands to her face to cover her embarrassment at Sasuke having seen her naked body yet again. Sasuke could sense her unease and scooted closer to her and pulled her up and over into his lap and held her against his bare chest. Without words and without explaining he just let her sit there with him until he felt her relax a little.

"You're still burning up" Sasuke noted raising his hand to her forehead again, "We should get you back in the ice bath."

"Ice bath?" Sakura cringed.

"That's why you're wearing light clothes, I've had to dunk you in the water to keep your fever down every couple of hours."

Sakura realized that meant Sasuke had been getting deprived of sleep if he'd been busy with her and treating her condition.

"Why couldn't you have had a servant attend to me, this is mundane work for you…"

Sasuke turned around with a raised brow, "When I took you in to live here I accepted responsibility for you. I wouldn't mind a servant tending to you if this were an ordinary illness, however someone inflicted this on you, and they're still out there. I don't trust you to not be where I can't reach you alone at night."

"You don't trust me?" she repeated his words out of context.

Sasuke slowly stood out of bed then leaned over and pulled Sakura to him and picked her up bridal style, "I don't trust everyone else," he clarified.

Sakura slid her hands around Sasuke's neck as he carried her to his bathroom that was twice the size of hers, into a bathtub that could easily fit five people. Sasuke made quick work of slipping her gown off before picking her back up and heading towards the tub. She hissed as he slowly lowered her into the water yet again and kneeled by the tub dabbing her face with a washcloth dipped in the cold water. Sakura half-lided looked up at Sasuke and tried her best to form a smile, but her fever was setting back in and so was the delirium. She couldn't think strait and pretty soon she heard her name being called but she was unable to respond it was all just black.

* * *

"She'll be fine" Tsunade decided after feeling Sakura's pulse on her neck then turning to the worried Uchiha, "This is to be expected with a fever as high as hers. I was able to go out this morning and gather some herbs that should help lower her fever. Take these and mix them in some tea or food for her at every meal. It should keep you from having to dunk her in ice."

Sasuke nodded as he took the parcel from Tsunade. He was skeptical and paranoid that these herbs were also poisoned, but he trusted Tsunade and she said she'd gone out this morning herself to gather them for Sakura, probably because she knew how paranoid the prince was about the situation.

"I have to go train…" Sakura grumbled as she fumbled out of the bed when she saw Sasuke walking Tsunade to the door of his chambers.

Sasuke spun around and caught the pinkette before she collapsed to the floor, "Sleeping is training too" he commented trying to persuade her, "You have to sleep to function and have a sharper mind, which makes your training more useful."

Sakura just absentmindedly nodded as she fell against Sasuke who picked her up and put her back into the bed. Sasuke then went over to door and ordered the servants to bring him some tea and a taste tester. Once the tea was brought he had the man drink the tea himself and when over ten minutes went by with no reaction Sasuke felt placated that the tea wasn't poisoned and let some of the herbs Tsunade gathered steep in the hot water before straining them out and having Sakura sit up to drink them. She seemed to look a little better after ingesting the concoction.

* * *

"I'm fine!" she argued as she struggled against Sasuke to get out of the bed some time later, "I've been here for too long, my reputation if there even was one is now gone, I've missed three days of training, and I have a week left before the general tryouts!"

Sasuke silenced her complaints with his mouth as he pressed his lips against hers, "If you're healthy" he eyed her up and down, "Then prove it."

Sakura knew that it was a teasing gesture she didn't have to respond to, but there was something about it that drew her into Sasuke and she kissed him back before parting the kiss and commenting, "This is the reason the servants talk, you know that right?"

"Let them" he grunted as he lowered a hand down to Sakura's derrière and squeezed her butt cheek before adding, "They're all just jealous that I get such a pretty woman to myself."

Sakura let out a small squeal when Sasuke grabbed her butt before lifting her head back up to meet his lips again. Sakura wrapped her legs around Sasuke's waist and as soon as she did the Uchiha flipped them both and sat up so Sakura was straddling his lap. While deepening the kiss he aggressively ran his hand down the pinkette's back before running his hand under and up her gown, taking it off. Of course since that was all she had on she was completely naked while he was still dressed in a cloth under shirt and trousers with a belt. Sakura felt embarrassed but she knew if she complained about her being the only naked one Sasuke would just give her the same response. Deciding to beat him to the punchline, she snaked her hands down between them and fumbled with his belt. He joined in with her and managed to unclasp it as well as sag his trousers down a little before standing up with her clinging to his waist. He managed to slip out of the pants exposing his almost fully erect extension before walking Sakura over to the closest wall and pressing her firmly up against it. The two continued to kiss fervently as Sakura then reached the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head. Finally exposed together, the two nipped at each other's necks, chins, ears, and mouths until Sasuke felt that he couldn't hold it any long and reached under Sakura's bottom to the adjust himself for entry.

"You haven't forgotten what it feels like have you?" he asked her mockingly as he rubbed the tip of his member at her entrance.

Hitching her breath before answering she moaned, "If I did, I get the feeling I'm about to remember."

"Smart girl" Sasuke growled in her ear before plunging himself inside of her.

Letting out a cry of pleasure she threw her head back slightly knocking it against the wall as Sasuke slammed into her pressing her against the cold stone of his bedroom. Sasuke braced one hand on the wall to steady himself while he trusted and put the other hand on one of Sakura's hips to help balance her as the two intertwined. Sasuke was so aggressive this time compared to the last few times that the sound of skin smacking could be heard just outside his bedroom if anyone were to press their ears against the door. He was sure a few servants were doing just that, but all the servants gossiped and as far as he was concerned this would just cause the wedding to be moved up further.

"I think I…" Sakura started to hitch her breath more erratically.

"Me too" Sasuke grunted in euphoria.

Sasuke managed to spill his seed inside of her with a final thrust pushing his whole body against her and the wall. Sakura was so caught up in her rhythm and pleasure that she didn't even noticed Sasuke had finished. Knowing that Sakura was still aroused and hadn't yet found release he carried her over to the bed dripping their shared juices and found a spare rag to wipe himself off with and Sakura as well. Assuming that their love session was over Sakura was reaching for her silk gown when Sasuke wrapped his arms around her hips and pulled her into the middle of the bed on her back as he planted kisses from her neck down her chest, making a stop at her nipples to make slow circles around them with his tongue and suck them into full arousal. Then down her stomach and abdomen and playfully moved to the side and made his way into kissing her inner thigh.

Sakura was a little confused at the situation then asked, "Wh-what are y-you doing? I thought y-you were d-done.."

"You should know better than to think I can ever leave you alone" he teased her humming against her opening.

Blushing a furious shade of red, Sakura put her head back down on the pillow to avoid embarrassing eye contact with the prince at what he was about to do to her. Just seconds later she felt his tongue slowly prying open her labia and making it's way to her clit where he circled around it several times, occasionally encasing it in his lips and sucking it with a 'pop.' She couldn't help the noises that escaped her lips as the prince poked and prodded with his tongue in her nether regions. After he'd had his fun around the exterior he made his way to the entrance he'd just experience with his lower extremities and plunged his tongue deep inside her, placing his hands on her hips to pull her more firmly against his face as she wriggled around making a mental map of her caverns.

"You make this look so easy" she panted before taking one of her hands and burying it in Sasuke's hair squeezing it tightly.

Sasuke chuckled against her sensitive vagina sending shockwaves up her spine before asking, "Are you complaining?"

"No!" she moaned loudly as Sasuke had just discovered her G-spot.

Finding the most sensitive patch of skin on the interior of her vagina, Sasuke kept pressing his tongue against it in a rhythm while taking his thumb and pressing it against her clit and rubbing it in a small deliberate circle. He eventually felt Sakura bucking her hips up into his face and he smirked just before she let out a ghastly moan and seized up with all her muscles involuntarily contacting. He could feel the walls of her vagina wrap around his tongue, creating a weird sensation. He withdrew his tongue and sat up, wiping the excess secretions from the outside of his mouth before crawling up to be face to face with Sakura and kissing her deeply while she was still out of breath. She could taste herself on his lips and she couldn't say she didn't find it arousing.

The two of them laid together in the nude for a little while before Sakura realized that the whole reason she agreed to this was to prove she was well enough to go train. She also realized that Sasuke had done this on purpose to distract her and side track her into spending more time with him since he'd grown used to her company taking care of her the past couple of days.

"I guess I can't keep you here forever" he sighed in disbelief as he helped Sakura gather her things to walk her back to her room to change into better clothes.

As they walked down the hall she noticed a few girls in expensive dresses that must've been apart of the court look at her and scowl while whispering with raised hands amongst each other.

"Let them" Sasuke responded to her unspoken words, "None of them will ever be queen."

Realizing the sincerity and truth to his words she looked over her shoulder one last time to see them walking away before looking in front of her and holding her chin just a bit higher. Even if the whole castle gossiped about their premarital affair she had nothing to truly be ashamed of since she was in love and would one day be queen. It seemed that there was almost nothing stopping her other than the general try outs that were in a week.

"I'll just set these here in this chair for the servants to wash your clothes. Get changed into your training gear."

Sakura nodded before taking her change of clothes into the bathroom and dressing in there out of view. Sasuke found it rather amusing that just less than an hour ago she was writhing hot and naked against his body and now she was shy again, not wanting to expose any of herself to him. He admitted to himself that it made taking her clothes off to see her naked form that much more fun.

Sakura came out dressed in her tabard and pants ready to go train as she turned to Sasuke with an expectant look before he led her out of her room, down the hall, eventually out of the castle and to an outdoor training ground.

"Why don't we get weapons?" Sakura asked confused looking around.

"Sometimes you don't get them" Sasuke chided her simple thinking, "On the battle field you can be left with nothing but your fists. You must learn to use everything you have at your disposal."

Sakura was curious as she tried to make her best fighting stance and failed miserably. Sasuke moved from his position to go and help Sakura adjust the way she was standing as well as where her hands were and proportion to her body explaining why everything needed to be that way as he went.

"I won't teach you to use a sword" he told her, "But I can still teach you to fight in self defense if you're ever left without a weapon in close range combat."

Sakura smiled to herself humorously at his loophole around his own words. She smiled and bit her lip when Sasuke had to readjust her footing and stood behind her. It distracted her and made her think of their time together, alone. For that reason, she constantly wound up on the ground beneath him.

"Maybe she needs an instructor she isn't constantly distracted thinking dirty thoughts about" Naruto laughed from the distance noticing Sakura's cherry red cheeks as Sasuke stood up off the ground dusting off his pants and walking towards Naruto.

"Then what are you suggesting?" Sasuke raised a brow at his friend, crossing his arms.

Naruto smirked crossing his own arms as he said, "Maybe I'm the better teacher for her."

Sasuke feeling a pang of jealousy said, "Well she isn't your fiancé."

"That's why I'm the better teacher" he laughed getting a little serious, "She keeps getting distracted by you, I see it all over her face. She can't look at you without seeing stars and fainting."

Sasuke looked over at Sakura to see her reaction to Naruto's words, but he found her facing completely away from him in either shame or embarrassment at the truth of Naruto's words. Sasuke then realized that while he himself wasn't distracted since military arts always got his blood pumping and helped him focus, Sakura seemed to be slightly lacking in that regard.

"Very well" Sasuke grunted reluctantly, "I'll leave you to it."

Naruto gave Sasuke a reassuring slap on the back as he walked off before approaching Sakura.

"So what is your weapon of preference?"

"Preference?" She asked confused, "I've only ever wielded a bow."

Naruto smirked then said "Well we've got a lot to do then don't we?"

Sakura gulped as Naruto led her to a nearby armory garrison next to the gymnasium she practiced in. The doors were opened to reveal a vast amount of weapons that she didn't even know existed. Some were thrown, others on chains, and a few the length of her entire body.

"Just play with a few" he encouraged her, "Without hurting yourself of course…"

Sakura glared at him from over her shoulder for the comment before turning back to the rack of weapons and picked on that Naruto was somewhat surprised at. She picked up a bow that's entire frame was made with plated metal and sharp metallic scythes at the ends. She spun it around rather gracefully as the blades whizzed through the air. The wood beneath the metal plating bent to allow the bow to be drawn and an arrow fired from it. She tested the string and it snapped hitting her right on the face leaving a bruise that was already creating a dark patch on her cheek.

"Careful!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards her as she kneeled to the ground hissing in pain, "Some of these weapons haven't been handled or maintained in years so they're a little temperamental."

"That would've been nice to know" she growled at him while holding a hand to her bruising face.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly smiling to try and diffuse Sakura's anger as he said, "It can easily be fixed by tomorrow. We should try to work on your archery and short range skill with a bow if you're going to use if for the tryouts. The ring is generally not set up for long range combat."

Sakura stood up taking one of Naruto's hands in hers, and holding her new treasure in the other. She took it with her back to her room, surprising Ino when she walked in.

"First you bring bruises now you have weapons too?!" Ino screeched unhappily, "Do you have any idea what people will start saying about you?"

"Let them" Sakura waved her hand dismissively as she started taking her clothes off, casting them to the side, "Have the servants drawn a bath yet?"

"Yes I already added my herbs to it, and this time they aren't poisoned because I picked them fresh today myself, just a few hours before putting them in there."

Sakura scowled at the excess information before Ino clarified, "In case your boyfriend accuses me of poisoning you a second time. I'm surprised he's not standing in there having a servant drink your bathwater to be honest."

"He's not that bad, he finally let me go train today. I proved I was um, healthy enough, so he let me return to my normal routine. I only have a matter of days left before the tryouts. I have to give it my all if I have any hope of earning my place here."

Sakura slipped into the bathroom but left the door open as Ino spoke to her from the other room arranging her things, "He accused me of trying to kill you! I could've lost my head if he had any less self restraint. I did, however, find out who was in my chambers while I was away. I have the name of every servant, every visitor, every person who walked through that door.

"Really?" Sakura asked as she excitedly ran back to the bathroom door using it as a shield to hide her nudity.

"Yes" Ino scowled putting her hands on her hips, "Now go finish bathing so I can dress your wounds and tell you more. I'm not going to talk to you while you bathe."

The pinkette stuck her tongue out at Ino before trotting back towards the tub and sinking into the steaming hot water and relaxing deeply as her muscles gave way to relief. It was good to be back to normal. At least, as normal as she could be in her position.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed that sauciness (¬‿¬)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

"You think the ambassador from the sound village did it?" Sakura asked in disbelief, rubbing her eyes from sleep.

After she'd taken her bath, she fell asleep on the bed by the time Ino returned to talk to her, so the blond let her be and woke her up in the morning to speak with her.

"I don't know if he had motives, or someone else had motives they wanted him to carry out. All I know is he is the only unfamiliar person who entered my room in my absence just a matter of hours before I returned." Ino shrugged, "I'm going to write a letter to be delivered to Sasuke seeing as he might be less than happy to see my face for a little while as it were."

While getting dressed, Sakura tried to grin to lighten the situation with a little humor before she stood up and grabbed her bow and archer's bracers and headed outside in her long red tabard and black mid shin length pants. She was already turning into the talk of the whole castle. It was becoming incredibly apparent between overnight visits with Sasuke that there was something "scandalous" going on. Sasuke unfortunately was the one that had to answer on both of their behalves to his father about it. Sakura was also now attracting an audience to watch as she practiced with Naruto. Many servants were in utter disbelief that she was throwing all her effort into military arts instead of sowing or painting like the other ladies. They blamed it on her uncivilized upbringing on a farm in the rural outskirts of the city. Sakura honestly couldn't care less as the thoughts evaporated form her mind when Naruto came into the sight.

"Hey!" he called waving happily, "I thought you weren't going to show up, you're usually on time."

"Sorry" she said, "I had to talk to Ino about something important before I came here. I overslept a little too" she admitted sheepishly, "Yesterday was pretty intense."

"Then you're going to hate today" Naruto smirked mischievously, "The general tryouts are the day after tomorrow, and this is the last practice we'll do so you can spend your whole day resting tomorrow to be fresh for the tournament. So I'm going to kick your ass."

"How dare you speak to a lady that way!" Sakura sarcastically exclaimed raising a hand to her mouth in fake shock.

Naruto chuckled, "We both know that you're past caring about it."

"Tis true" she smiled, "draw your sword" she said holding her double edged bow, narrowing her eyes with an intent focus.

Sasuke happened to have some free time on his hands after attending a war meeting to discuss both the general tryouts, which twisted into conversations about the controversial entry of Sakura, and the upcoming war which is why they needed the new general. He looked out one of the castle windows into a green open pasture and saw people sitting on blankets. At first glance it appeared to be people enjoying the sunny weather, until he realized they weren't enjoying the weather, but spectating something. He took a closer look in the distance to see two vague figures dancing rhythmically with what he assumed were weapons. The flash of pink hair told him what he already suspected. It was Sakura and Naruto sparing. Since a few days ago when she publicly signed her name to participate in the general tryouts she had become somewhat of a spectacle. He heard that her sparing sessions with Naruto now attracted a regular following of courtesans seeking a new form of entertainment. Sasuke only hoped that she would change her mind before the tournament came. Against his better judgement he decided to walk down and see for himself what his fiancé was capable of.

When he made it down to the ground level and across a walkway he could see more clearly Sakura and Naruto sparing. He especially noticed she was wearing her engagement gift of the archer's bracers on her wrists. However to his surprise she was using the bow as a short range weapon, using the steel plated front to parry Naruto's sword attacks and then taking swipes of her own with the blades on the ends of her bow. It was impressive, he had to admit. In two days she had developed her own fighting style. He felt a little more at ease now that she was able to keep up with Naruto and not be easily over taken. He could tell that Naruto was only holding back a little with not having an intent to kill, but otherwise giving it his all. Sasuke and Naruto were almost evenly matched. Sasuke usually won by out smarting him with the smallest mistakes in footwork. Naruto won if it dragged on too long and Sasuke lost stamina, because Naruto had significantly more. If Sakura was giving Naruto a run for his money she could at least stand a small chance in the tournament. It still didn't alleviate his worries about the competitors that had no problem sparing with the intent to kill since it was allowed in the general's tournament seeing how prestigious and competitive it was.

Eventually Sakura managed to do what Sasuke did and outdid his footwork and slid her leg quickly low swiping his feet hurtling him onto his rear end and then holding the blade on one end of her bow dangerously close to his neck. A small chorus of applause was heard around the courtyard and Sasuke even clapped a few times himself as he walked out onto the grassy field.

Sakura saw Sasuke approaching and immediately arched her brows, "You were watching?"

"The last bit of it" Sasuke said, "I couldn't help wondering why so many people were gathered in this one spot staring in the same direction."

"Sorry if I'm embarrassing you…" she admitted, knowing that their engagement and her rash behavior together was a bit of a tarnish on his name.

"It's fine" he told her, "I'm glad I got to watch. I can see you've gotten better."

"That's not all" she told him as she warily looked around at people packing and folding their blankets and belongings since the show was over.

She pulled Sasuke around a corner to a secluded crevice of the castle courtyard and then used the blade on her bow to cut her wrist as deep as it had been he first time Tsunade did it. Sasuke immediately tried to grab her wrist and curse at her for being to reckless but she slapped his hand away as her blood dripped onto the grass before holding her hand over the sizable gauge in her wrist and emitting a green glow as the tissue seemed to magnetically snap back together, and the blood to stop oozing out. A few seconds later and her wrist looked like it did just minutes before she cut it. Sasuke was speechless.

"You've been working with Tsunade too?" He raised a brow, happy that she took his advice and rather aggressive push towards learning healing.

Sakura nodded before answering, "I've only seen her a few more times since my wrists got slit that first training session. I haven't had much time, but I practice at night healing the wounds from sparing. It's made Ino a little angry since I don't have much need of her poultices lately."

Sasuke smirked a little before pulling her against his chest as he said, "Please be careful…"

Sakura went from smiling to feeling a small chill run down her spine at Sasuke's rather ominous attitude, "Don't be so glum. I promise I'll be fine. Even if I lose I'll just have hurt pride, maybe a few broken bones. Nothing that can'd be mended."

Sasuke shook his head trying to engrain some semblance of understanding in her head of the type of tournament she was entering, "It's not just broken bones. People _die_ participating in this tournament. Some participants have no problem fighting with the intent to kill, and sometimes they do. Because of the type of tournament it is, killing your opponent is allowed should it escalate and become increasingly difficult to overpower your foe without lethal force."

"I'll be fine" Sakura reassured him, "I've discovered that I have far too much to live for now."

She leaned up to Sasuke's mouth to plant a long tender kiss on his lips as he pulled her against him in a loving embrace. He cursed to himself that he was stuck in his chainmail shirt beneath his silk tabard he was wearing keeping him from getting a better feeling of Sakura's body flush against his own.

"Ahem" a voice came from behind them.

Sakura jumped and immediately broke the kiss as Sasuke slowly turned mildly annoyed to see Itachi standing there.

"A bit public with your affection, hm?" He teased, "Try not the be the source of more rumors. Father hasn't even officially announced the engagement yet and servants are already asking when there'll be a baby."

Sasuke gritted his teeth before he said, "Go make yourself useful elsewhere. I don't have any business with you right now."

"Oh but you do" he said with a knowing smirk, "I have a list of the men signed up for the tournament in two days, as well as their skill sets and well known fighting styles. I've sized them all up and I thought Sakura might like to get a glimpse at her competition."

"How oddly generous of you…" Sasuke growled.

"But-" he interjected, "You'll have to meet me for tea tomorrow, assuming your training schedule allows for it."

Sasuke gave Sakura a weary look before she turned to face Itachi, "If that's the condition, then I'll meet you for tea tomorrow afternoon. I'm not practicing since I need to rest to have all my energy for the tournament, so tea sounds lovely." she said with false sincerity.

"I hope you know what you're doing" Sasuke looked at her worriedly before enveloping her in one last embrace, "I have some other things that demand my attention, so I might not see you until the tournament, so please, deeply consider if you want to do this…"

Sakura nodded knowing full well what she wanted to do, but didn't want to argue with Sasuke and watched him walk away back inside the castle with the strut of a future monarch. He definitely had the saunter down to a tee.

* * *

"I'll let him know you're here, m'lady" a servant bowed before walking inside Itachi's chambers only to emerge shortly after and usher her inside, "Right this way."

Sakura nodded and smiled gratefully as a servant led her through into the large room with a rather economically small tea table already set with fine china. Itachi emerged from an adjacent room shortly as he spoke her name as a greeting before gesturing her to sit in the seat across from him at the small table.

"Thank you for your generous invitation" Sakura tried not to gag on her words.

"Let's not carry on with false niceties. I know you don't want to be here. However thank you for accepting my invitation."

Sakura was a little taken aback by his ability to read people and know exactly what she was thinking, well not exactly, but figuring out that she wasn't exactly his number one fan.

"So you have that list?" She asked getting right to the point.

"Ah, skipping the small talk. I like you." he said bluntly.

Sakura tried to hide a small blush on her face from Itachi's rather crass flattery. "Um, thank you."

Itachi gestured to one of the servants in the room to get some tea, and they scurried out while the other carried on dusting, polishing, and otherwise cleaning and straitening various things around the room. A few moments later the servant set a hot porcelain tea pot down on the table and silently bowed before returning to his other tasks in the room. Itachi poured Sakura's cup of tea before his own then sipped on it, looking at her silently. The silence was starting to irk Sakura and Itachi could tell from her slightly twitching eyebrow, making him smirk to himself.

"Here's the list" he told her, "As well as the brackets, so you know most likely who you'll be facing."

"You even got the brackets?" She was rather impressed.

"I have my sources."

"There are two people you need to be concerned about. The one I think you'll face in the final round will be Sassori. He's a master of poisons and he's been known to use lethal poisons in 'friendly' combat instead of temporary paralysis. He's the one I'd be most concerned about if I were you."

Sakura nodded while skimming over the notes on each competitor before raising a brow and asking, "Who is Sanosuke?"

"Another challenging competitor, however I don't know how far he'll make it. He's kind of a wild card. His swordsmanship is sloppy, however his sword is so large that it's hard to evade or even parry its swipe. His brute strength surpasses anyone else in the tournament."

"Good to know" she frowned while scanning over the other names, "Zaku Abumi?… What's he doing on here?" she asked confused recognizing the name from her and Ino's discussion.

He was a representative from the sound village. An ambassador to the castle for the sound village. The village was still considered part of the city state and it's outlying provinces, but since he was over a day's ride away they had a representative live in the castle.

"He isn't one to be too concerned about, however you will be facing against him in your very first match, is he of particular interest to you?"

"Possibly…" she grumbled, "I was poisoned if you didn't hear about that, and apparently he'd visited Ino's room under the pretense of waiting for her return, but left before she arrived. She thinks he poisoned her poultice she used on my wounds ultimately poisoning me…"

"That's quite an accusation" Itachi chuckled, "However seeing as I could get the brackets, it's no surprise someone else might've seen them too and attempted to knock off their early opponents. It just goes to show that he doesn't have faith in his own abilities in a fair fight, so I would say as far as that match is concerned the odds are in your favor. I wouldn't get too cocky though. He uses an unknown magic in his arms and hands that blow wind. While the wind itself can't hurt you unless it's at a close range, it can work in his favor to disgruntle you and catch you flat footed."

"Magic?" Sakura asked, "I know I've seen Tsunade's healing, but I didn't realize there were other magics."

"They're very rare" Itachi added, "But they do exist. Zaku just happens to be an incredible fool and I think he'll be a relatively good warm up opponent for you."

"Well that's reassuring" Sakura sighed a small sigh of relief, "I just hope I know what I'm doing."

"Whatever do you mean?" Itachi asked with slight humorous interest.

"Don't spread this, because it's my trump card, but I've been learning Tsunade's magic. I can heal myself, specifically flesh wounds. However I don't know how I'll fare against poison." Sakura talked quietly so the servants couldn't hear.

"Impressive" Itachi commented, "You're quite the talk of interest. People go to exaggerated lengths researching their opponents for this tournament, but you're a wild card as well. All people know about you is that you prefer a bow and you can use it in short range combat. Just the basic skills you've displayed sparing with Naruto." After that statement he leaned forward tow whisper, "I think that it's a good thing you haven't displayed your healing abilities yet."

"So spies were watching?" She asked with a quirked brow.

"They probably just paid servants to spill information about you. It's much easier then trying to come into the castle themselves, and these people think they're invisible and know everything, so flattery and coin go a long ways." Itachi said audibly to test his statement with the people around his room that were silently cleaning.

A few of the servants around the room scowled, but didn't dare look over at Itachi. Sakura could tell they were rather put off by his comment, but seeing as they gossiped about her and Sasuke as well, she didn't particularly resent the comment or find it false. Their facial expressions just proved that their conversation wasn't private unless they whispered.

"Thank you for all this information" she said as she took the last sip of tea from her cup, "But if you don't mind I need to make sure all of my equipment is well maintained and then make sure my travel arrangements are in order."

"But of course" Itachi smiled rather playfully with his unpredictable friendly personality.

Sakura excused herself politely before letting herself out of the room. It rather perturbed her that Itachi didn't make things more difficult for her and just simply requested her company for tea and didn't demand anything else, or even threaten her with information he's surely gathered on her from the servants and others around the castle. However she didn't let those thoughts plague her mind as she had a perfectly civil conversation and she wasn't angry or upset after the encounter, so she was going to let it contribute to her good mood.

Dreadfully uncomfortable in her dress she tried to make her way to the main parlor in order to sit and talk with Ino, and the other court ladies that she rather truthfully hated. She really only liked Ino, and appreciated Hinata, Ten-Ten, and Temari. She forgot how uncomfortable it was to walk around in several layers of fabric and what she referred to as "stuffing" to make her dress more poofy, because she'd mostly been wearing her training outfit Sasuke had gifted her in order for her to properly train without restricting fabric. She wished she could wear those clothes instead, however since she wasn't training it would be frowned on even further for her to appear in court with such clothes on.

"Sakura!" Ino called from across the room sitting with the other blond Temari.

Sakura smiled and made her way over to her friends, sitting on the upholstered bench next to Ino.

"I hope you're ready for tomorrow" Ino smiled excitedly.

It had taken a little while, but Ino had grown accustomed to and adopted Sakura's stubborn idea of participating in the tryouts and supported her pink haired friend instead of continuing to preach against it.

"I'm supposed to be 'resting' today, according to Naruto, but I'm itching to grab my bow" she giggled rather excitedly.

Sakura felt a mixture of excitement and terror when she thought about the tournament. She didn't know if she was mentally prepared to face the challenges and possibly even take a life, or watch someone else take a life in front of her very eyes. However when she thought back to the farm and Madara's guards burning her family and her hone to the ground and looking at their half charred corpses she instantly hardened and realized she was no longer an innocent bystander and someone who couldn't be exposed to the harsh realities of this world. She had already seen her fair share of carnage and if she could witness the destruction of her own family then surely she could handle a tournament.

Ino smiled at her friend's enthusiasm as Temari said, "Do you mind if Ino and I come to watch?"

"Are you my new fan club?" Sakura asked sarcastically.

"Of course!" Ino said with a laughing smile tugging at her lips.

"I have to warn you, Sasuke told me these tournaments can get really ugly. I don't know if you want to you know… see people get killed."

"They don't _always_ end that way" Temari explained, "But I do know there have been several instances of lives lost in these tournaments."

Sakura nodded at Temari's comment before adding, "I would advise you against viewing it. I know you've been treating my wounds for these past several weeks, and you want to see me succeed, but I don't want to ruin your innocence. Watching someone get killed can harden people… I don't want that for you."

Ino nodded as she slightly curved her lips in a rather disappointed expression, "I understand" she said, "But I _will_ come to see your matches. You can't stop me."

Sakura smiled rather melancholy for ruining the exciting mood Ino was creating as she spoke with her friend, Ino, and good acquaintance, Temari. It was all too soon, but the day came to an end after dinner. Sakura saw Sasuke sit with his family at the head of the large dining hall's table, but she didn't dare approach him or his father, because they seemed to be engrossed in what was surely a discussion of diplomacy and war, a conversation that she was not allowed to participate in. She did however feel bad for Mikoto who was sitting next to them with a rather bored and ostracized look on her face. Sakura caught a glimpse of her looking her way and smiled, making Mikoto exchange an equally pleasant smile of her own. The two women seemed to have a mutual understanding of what tomorrow's events would bring.

* * *

Sakura was walking back to her room when she felt a firm hand grip her wrists and pull her backwards before pressing her against the wall. She hitched her breath when she came face to face with charcoal eyes and playfully smirking lips.

"Do you still intend to fight tomorrow?" Sasuke asked in seriousness, changing his playful expression.

Sakura nodded before answering, "I told you. I have to prove myself, and I've come this far. I even showed you what I could do, please don't worry."

"I always worry" he grunted, "You always make me worry. You're such a wild child, and I can't control you."

Sakura smiled then said, "Well I hope that I can make you proud at the tournament tomorrow."

She tried to slip away from his grasp on her against the wall as she said, "Unfortunately I need all the sleep I can get to be prepared for the tournament tomorrow, so I have to be going now."

"You're so cold" he sighed with a playful grin, "How did you know what I want?"

"It was the glean in your eye" she smirked back at him, "Now be gone before the servants start another rumor about us that's actually true."

Sasuke smirked once more before turning on his heel back down the hallway to his own chamber. Sakura, exhausted from the excessive socializing today, immediately stripped down to her petticoat and slipped off her corset before slipping into bed and quickly dozing off into sleep.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

Sakura awoke early that morning in order to travel to the outside of the castle walls where the tournament was being held in a sort of 'fair' type fashion with vendors and events and a sort of celebration. The city was too crowded and having such a large event inside would cause an unbelievable traffic jam for business and trades making their way in and out of the city. The pinkette woke up and unceremoniously tossed her sleeping gown to the floor as she sauntered into the bathroom to dip into her tub of cold water. It was starting to become increasingly hot in Konoha so the ice was a welcome change in temperature as her muscles jolted her to being fully awake and then soaking in the thermal relief.

"You don't have much time" a servant reminded her in the doorway.

Sakura turned to look over her shoulder to see the woman bowing before rising back up with a towel in her hands, "The tournament starts in two hours and participants need to be there at least a half hour before. It's quite a trip outside the city gates to where the festival is miss. I don't mean to overstep my bounds, but your carriage is waiting, and so are your friends."

Sakura sighed and smiled at the servant nodding, which was her polite way of implying she acknowledged what she said, but wished to have five more minutes of peace. This could be her last morning in paradise for all she knew. Her stubbornness had made her continue with her registration for the general try outs two days ago, causing quite a stir. Full of pride she couldn't stand to back down now, even if she was starting to have second thoughts just hours before her first fight. After just a few seconds more of the cold water Sakura stood up and stretched her arms and back before stepping out of the tub and into the towel the maid was respectfully holding out for her to wrap herself in. After dabbing herself dry Sakura looked over to the clothes laid on the arm of her sofa and picked them up and quickly put them on before looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair had grown much longer since she first arrived at the castle some months ago. She reached into her drawer for some string to use and wound her hair into a long ponytail trailing down her back.

"For what it's worth, you do look lovely, miss." The servant complimented her as she straitened a few things around Sakura's room, no doubt nervous for Sakura's impending confrontations.

The pinkette smiled and thanked the servant for her considerateness before walking over to where her bow rest against the wall, and her leather bracers with the Uchiha crest emblazoned on them sitting on a table just next to the bow. After snapping on the bracers she picked up the bow and used the new string she put on it just the day before to sling it over her shoulder and carry it across her back against her quiver of arrows. She took her time walking down the hall way, because with each step she felt uncertainty. However as soon as she saw Fugaku's face as he walked out the main door with Sasuke in tow, she soon renewed her conviction. She _had_ to do this. If not for herself, then for her love, for the future. For Sasuke.

Sasuke caught a glance of pink down the hallway but couldn't bear to look at Sakura at the moment. He'd prefer if he didn't have to see her at all until the try outs were over, because seeing her get battered and beaten down by her opponents and possibly being killed was more than he could bear. He already decided himself that if anyone were to come close to killing her he would immediately step in and forfeit the match on her behalf to save her. Even if it disgraced her, and possibly him. Reputation wasn't what Sasuke cared or longed for. What he cared about had a height of five foot nothing, was hundred pounds, with legs like ivy that wrapped around-

"Sasuke" Fugaku called to his son who was standing frozen outside of their royal carriage adorned in all kinds of ornate gold patterns on the cobalt blue painted wood.

Sasuke shook his head clear of the thoughts he was having of the pink haired woman who had stolen his heart and possibly made him lose his mind with all this worrying he'd been doing.

"I know what you're thinking" Fugaku commented while his son sat across from him, brooding out of the window. "I think she'll do fine. Even if she doesn't win. I know what you'll do if you think she'll lose, but please, let her fight her own battle. I promise if things look very grim I will intervene. If you do so it will disgrace the tournament, since it's being held for me to decide a general, let me be the one to forfeit a match if it seems hopeless."

Sasuke looked at his father a bit surprised with raised brows. He was rather suspicious though, because his father hadn't exactly expressed a _fondness_ for the pink haired banshee who was parading around his castle with weapons in leather armor. No self respecting king would find that a worthy cause for his son to pursue in marriage. It was almost as if his father might've been plotting to let Sakura die, so deciding that while his father might have pure intentions, he couldn't leave it up to him to protect Sakura's life should it come down to that, until he was proven otherwise.

* * *

"Fresh baked potato sticks! Get your potato sticks!" one vendor yelled while others shouted other wares at each of their respective stalls.

The air reeked of meat, smoke, and merriment. Commoners stumbled around the grass three sheets to the breeze while arm in arm spilling the contents of their ale mugs all over each other with laughter. Women were chased around by a few men, but with gleeful giggles and jumping steps of what seemed almost joyful flirtation, Sakura could tell the advances weren't unwanted. When a man tried to come up to Sakura and wrap his arms around her in the belief she was apart of the entertainment, with the calm expression of stagnant water she quickly drew an arrow from her quiver and held it against his neck.

"Can I help you?" She seethed.

"I-I'm S-s-sorry miss! I th-thought you was part of the f-f-festival!"

"You're sorely mistaken" she growled with animosity as the man immediately fled her presence.

She heaved a sigh of both annoyance and relief as someone approached her from in front while she continued to watch the man flee, looking over her shoulder to be sure he wasn't coming back.

"You're a very capable woman, aren't you?" a hoarse voice asked from a few feet away.

Sakura jumped at the sudden unannounced presence and jolted her head forward to come close to a red haired man with what looked to be a purposefully carved symbol on his forehead.

"Don't tell me you're the infamous woman trying out for the general position in the tournament?"

"You misogynist…" she hissed under her breath at a volume she hoped was inaudible before replying much louder, "Yes. I am. Is there a problem?"

"None at all" he seemed to have an amused smirk on his face, "It's just interesting is all."

"Do you find me amusing?" she raised a brow trying not to reveal the anger in her voice though it was evident in her glaring eyes.

"I'm Gaara" the man said before extending his hand for Sakura to shake, "I do find you amusing."

Sakura took his hand fully expecting him like all other male pigs to kiss her hand because she was a 'lady,' but instead she was pleasantly surprised that he just shook her hand as if she were his equal. Her face betrayed her surprise as Gaara raised a brow in return at her.

"Were you expecting a declaration of adoration and a kiss?" reading her mind.

Sakura blushed a bit embarrassed for thinking so stereotypically, "I suppose, but this is much better."

"You're not only the crown princess, but a fellow warrior. I've seen you train. You've earned my respect, even if you don't win, but I hope you do."

"The crown princess thing is unofficial…" she whispered hoping that no one else over heard her.

Gaara simply smiled before he reminded her, "Yes, but Fugaku has agreed to your engagement on Sasuke's behalf, even if he still hasn't publicly acknowledge it himself and set a wedding date. Politics is a rather futile and infinitesimal thing to deal with. I'd rather deal with facts and truth."

Sakura nodded before she heard a loud horn blow then hissed, "Crap. I need to find out where I'm supposed to be."

"I'll show you" Gaara gestured for her to follow him.

He was headed the very same way since he, along with the other generals would be spectating the tournament, but Sakura didn't know that. It was another thing he found amusing. Several months in the castle and she had yet to know who the generals and advisors were. Sakura was relieved when they arrived just as names for the tournament were being called. As expected, all the contestants eyes were distractedly on her. She waved a thanks to Gaara before he walked off around the side of the pitched tent to the arena.

"Sakura Haruno?" the man read off the list rather questioningly wondering if he misread a man's name or someone registered by mistake, though with her pink hair and being the only female applying for the tournament it was painfully obvious she was both present and accounted for.

All the men looked at her with eyes that were sizing her up as she raised her hand and shouted, "aye!"

The man reading the entries off the list raised his brow at her as he put a check mark by her name. She was brave to sign up, but even braver to show up.

* * *

"First round!" yelled a squire on a box outside of the arena, but inside the colosseum on the rink of it in front of the royal family and generals so people around the arena could hear, "Sakura!, versus, Zaku!"

The crowd instead of cheering wildly for entertainment were instead buzzing with whispers and gasps. Apparently it was expected Sakura would drop herself from the tournament after seeing sense. It was what Sasuke was hoping for, but he clenched his jaw as the two contestants entered from separate gates and met in the middle of the ring. Each extending a hand to shake.

"You failed" Sakura growled while looking him dead in the eye trying to allude to her previous poisoning and near death experience, "And now you're gunna wish you hadn't."

Zaku's face betrayed his surprise for an instant before re-hardening his features, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course" Sakura smirked, "But I guess you can take your lies with you to the grave."

"How dare you"

"Burn in hell" she hissed at him while giving his hand one last bone crushing squeeze and taking a few steps backwards to her respective side of the arena.

Sasuke didn't miss a beat knowing full well they were having a conversation. He could clearly hear their voices from where he sat, but unfortunately not what they were saying. His father also noticed that Sasuke was gripping his arm chair with white knuckles and the match hadn't even started yet. Mikoto tried to place a comforting hand on Sasuke's arm, but it didn't faze his laser focus on the pinkette as she seemed to mildly shake in anticipation returning to her corner.

Sakura's adrenaline was pumping. Not only was this her first _real_ fight that was do or die, but it was against a man who had initially tried to kill her before she even made it this far. If only Sasuke knew, Zaku would be shackled and tortured to reveal the truth then executed. It didn't help her nerves at all. She could feel all her bones rattling as she stepped to her side of the arena several paces away from Zaku waiting for the horn to sound and the round to start. She analyzed that neither of them were at a particular vantage point seeing as they both had means of long range combat, with the air magic in his arms, and her bow and arrow.

"BEGIN!" the man bellowed before blowing loudly into the horn.

With that one command Sakura felt the switch in her brain flip on to _fight or fight_ because there was no "flight" option inside of the arena. Animal instinct kicked in as she grabbed an arrow out of her quiver and drew it so fast it gave spectators whiplash. She aimed and released the bow with deadly accuracy from her hours of practice. The arrow landed in the cement wall with a crack causing many people to cheer loudly suddenly feeling of the carnal energy of raw combat.

Zaku took his opportunity to use Sakura's only weapon against her and with his strength managed to pull the arrow out of the wall in its shattered entirety and put the pieces inside the tubes of his arms. People gasped not quite understanding until he shot the spray of wood and metal back at Sakura in a barrage of broken fragments. They nicked her in several places causing relatively visible cuts on her cheek and her arms.

 _"_ _Well that leaves arrows out of the question…"_ Sakura thought bitterly to herself before she reached back into her quiver, seeing as he could return her fire in a way she had a difficult time dodging.

Not to say that she could be nicked and scraped to death, but if he were to get a hold of an un-splintered arrow it could spell trouble for her. Zaku could use his arms like blow guns. Not exactly knowing how to deal with her opponent and seeing as he only had a dagger she decided to move in for close combat.

"You imbecile…" Sasuke growled to himself as he watched the pinkette, "Why don't you heal yourself!…" he whispered Angrily.

Itachi was sitting right beside his disgruntled brother and whispered to him in an attempt to placate his irate frustration, "It's her strategy. Her healing is her trump card. If you didn't notice all of her potential future opponents are carefully and tactfully _watching her_. If she uses that now they can try and use it against her or find a strategy around it. It's smarter for her to endure small wounds that aren't debilitating and cope with it until she actually needs to heal herself. Believe me, she has this fight. She'll be fine."

Sasuke wasn't convinced but tried to put his confidence in his brothers words as he watched Sakura round on her opponent with a ferocity he hadn't seen her quite use in her sparing matches with Naruto. She even managed to land a rib cracking blow with the broad metal plating of her bow into Zaku's ribs, eliciting a loud cheer from the bystanders all around the arena. Surprise was an understatement. Sasuke had half expected Sakura to be booed out of the arena on sight, but people were _cheering_ for her. They were excited to see a woman in the ring.

"You bitch" Zaku spat with blood flowing from his mouth at her wind knocking blow to his ribs and lungs.

Sakura smirked to herself, almost missing that he was reaching for his dagger at his waist. Sakura jumped out of the way at the last second and rolled across the dirt arena kicking up a cloud of smoke. Zaku got an idea and closed his eyes as he aimed his arms down at the ground and blasted it with air, creating a large smoke screen of dust and dirt and debris into the air.

"Shit" Sakura hissed covered her own eyes trying to back out of the cloud until her back hit against the wall.

As soon as her back hit the wall she knew she was in a bad position. She just didn't realized how bad until she was gazing down a tube embedded inside a palm. In a split second she ducked down and rolled through Zaku's legs back out into the arena to avoid the deadly blast of air he just released causing a huge crackling dent in the arena wall four times as large as her arrow. It was now obvious to her that it wasn't just air anymore, it was a pressurized weapon, which is why he only carried a dagger. _He was the weapon._ Sakura, perturbed by her new discovery of his power was now at a loss of what to do, until she realized something crucial. He was wearing fucking sandals.

A smirked came to her face as she realized he couldn't blow her arrow back at her if it was projected downwards. She quickly drew from her quiver and aimed directly at his face. Zaku thinking she was going to fire right for his torso held his arms out to shoot her arrow right back at her and released a slow stream of air he planned to strengthen once the arrow changed direction. But what he wasn't expecting was the aim to suddenly change downward. Before he had time to react Sakura fired the arrow strait from her bow and out past his air current and right through one of his ankles. He let out a scream of pain as Sakura rushed over to finish the job. She had no intention of actually killing him, but she did grab the dagger out of his waist and held it against his throat.

"Admit it!" she screamed, "Admit you did it!"

"BITCH!" he screamed in pain as she saw that the arrow had severed his tendon in the back of his leg causing his muscles to look like they were being pulled like curtains.

The horn was blown once again, meaning the match was over, and some guard came out to actually pull Sakura off her opponent as she yelled obscenities at him before being hauled off back through her gate. She even broke one arm free so she could turn herself around and spit on Zaku before leaving.

"What in God's name" Fugaku growled at the rather barbaric behavior Sakura was displaying as a duchess.

"I'll go investigate" Sasuke said disgruntled as he stood from his wooden throne brought out for his comfortable seating to spectate the tournament.

"It's fifteen minutes until the next match" Fugaku warned him.

The prince's presence wasn't exactly mandatory, but since Fugaku was grooming Sasuke to be the next king of konoha it was highly imposed on him that he attend each match to know and better understand the person who would become the next general and since no one knew who that was until the end, it was important he watch _all_ the matches.

"What the hell is your-" Sasuke tried to growl at the pinkette as soon as she came into sight in the tent pitched for the general's tournament, however a pair of soft lips interrupted him.

A few whistles came from some of the men waiting for their round of the tournament that spectated the spectacle of Sakura smashing her face against Sasuke's, the crown prince.

"Now is not the time for-"

He was interrupted a second by the pinkette except this time with words, "I missed you" she almost seemed teary eyed, "I didn't find my courage again until I saw you leaving this morning."

Sasuke at that point didn't care if they were being watched. Pulling Sakura into his arms he smelled the sweat in her hair and sensed the pure adrenaline still pumping through her veins, it was almost intoxicating him how she was still shaking. However unlike the shaking he first saw at the beginning of the match this was different. She was shaking out of rage. Pure unadulterated anger.

"He did it" Sakura hissed, "He was behind the poison."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes instantly remembering her close scrape with death due to the poison in Ino's poultice she'd unknowingly administered to Sakura. It was a rather large accusation to be making since he was a village representative. Zaku wasn't exactly a government official, but he represented a small portion of the population of the farming community in Oto village that was outside the city, but still under it's protection. To accuse him of something was like accusing the whole village of Oto. Sasuke however had received a letter from Ino with detailed information on Zaku's whereabouts as well as her analysis of the poisoned poultice and the herbs used in it and their origins, coming from Oto. It still wasn't enough evidence to incriminate him, but it was enough to warrant an interrogation. He made sure Zaku was to receive medical care for his wounds, but once taken care of he was to be locked up in a prison cell back at the castle for further questioning. He wouldn't stand for anyone to try and assassinate his future wife.

After issuing orders to a servant Sakura finally done panting out of breath said, "It was the brackets. He got a hold of the brackets before the actual tournament and tried to kill me off early to advance his chances in the tournament and have one less opponent to face."

"Coward.." Sasuke grunted to himself, "I'll take care of it. A servants already seeing to his arrest and escort back to the castle."

Sakura nodded knowing justice would be served as she sat down on the bench with her face in her hands.

"I thought I was in trouble…" she admitted, "He was using my own arrows against me. I didn't even consider that possibility and it almost killed me…"

"I'm not going to tell you I told you so, but it's what I tried to warn you about while you were adamant on entering this tournament."

Sakura nodded trying to hold back tears in her eyes since Sasuke was right. But she'd won her first round, so turning back now almost seemed pointless and arbitrary. The other matches passed and Itachi had correctly predicted the advancing parties. Her next opponent would indeed be Sanosuke. It was eerie how his name was Similar to Sasuke's but they looked nothing alike. She eyed him out of her peripheral vision and to say she was intimidated was an understatement. He had spikey dirty blond tresses, a red bandana around his forehead, no shirt, exposing his completely rock solid enormous body, and a sword that must've weighed twice as much as he did. It was at least a foot wide and was almost long enough to be poking a hole in the fabric of the ten foot tall tent. Itachi wasn't kidding about him.

* * *

Soon enough Sakura found herself in the ring with Sanosuke. After shaking hands she tried to glare at him in her own incriminating way, but instead she was greeted by an amused smiled on his face as if she wasn't really his opponent at all, but just a minor bug for him to easily step on. After their wordless exchange of facial features they retreated to their sides of the arena.

 _"_ _My only hope is to shoot him immediately"_ Sakura thought to herself gripping her bow.

Sasuke noticed how her nerves were more controlled this time than her first match with Zaku. She wasn't scattered brained so much as calculating. At least that's the reading he got off of her facial expression. Sasuke waited tensely before the horn was blown to begin.

Without so much as missing a beat Sanosuke charged at her as soon as the horn was blown. Sakura who was fearing for her life at that moment, drew an arrow from her quiver and decisively aimed it for Sanosuke's right shoulder. To her horror, without significant strain or effort he managed to slice her arrow in half with his massive sword and was now planting his feet to swing his blade in a full circle. To avoid being sliced in half Sakura used her bow to parry the attack with it's metal plates, but the centrifical force behind the large sword knocked her into the wall, and possibly next week. She was dazed as she realized her entire arm that was slammed into the wall was shattered and a few of her ribs were broken from the impact.

Sasuke's face almost exploded as he was about to make a motion to stand until Fugaku rested a hand on his shoulder, "I told you to leave this to me, just wait."

Sasuke looked infuriated at his father before he turned his eyes back to the horrific sight before him, with Sanosuke slowly approaching his pinkette crumpled against the wall, that was now starting to crumble from the impact. Sakura slowly rose her one useful arm to her chest. A small green glow started to emit from her hands causing Sanosuke to freeze in his tacks as well as draw the attention of every single other person in the arena. Sakura noticed the complete and utter silence her newfound ability was creating. An eruption of whispers happened after Sakura stood, moving her once shattered arm now completely healed, and wiping the blood from her lips that was filling her lungs and spilling out of her mouth.

"I told you" Itachi grunted to his brother, "Have faith."

That was so fucking easy for his brother to say. He was anything but calm and faithful. Faith got you killed, action caused change. He still wasn't sure if he shouldn't stand and call the match off. It was clear Sakura was the mouse and Sanosuke was the snake in the arena. She was running from corner to corner waiting to be swallowed.

Once Sakura had gained her composure thanks to her opponent's temporary trance of shock at her rare healing skill, She drew an arrow into her bow, but instead of firing it immediately she kept it drawn against the string, and ran. She was running in circles around Sanosuke tempting him to swing his blade yet again.

 _"_ _I only have one chance at this…"_

Sanosuke swung his blade and Sasuke's heart skipped a beat when he saw that Sakura wasn't positioning herself to parry the attack. instead Sakura calculated her jump in order to land on _top_ of his sword, seeing as it was a foot wide with plenty of room to get her footing. Sanosuke looked wide eyed at the pinkette before realizing her bow was drawn and she was about to fire, just a foot from his face.

"Very daring" he grunted at her, "I suppose this is where I should surrender."

"Should?" Sakura asked questioning not letting her eyes stray one iota from her target.

"Will" Sanosuke corrected as he slowly lowered his sword onto the ground with Sakura still standing on it before raising both his hands as a gesture of defeat.

The horn was blown once more as cheers exploded from the stands as well as slurs and curse words. People seemed to have lost a lot of money because of Sakura progressing so far in the tournament. God knows what this was doing to the misogynistic betting pool. If Sakura actually won this thing there would be a complete uproar, and judging on her tenacity and cleverness, Sasuke was starting to believe she could. He sat in his seat without getting up to meet Sakura once again since she and Sanosuke shook hands in a much more amicable way than she'd parted with her last opponent.

* * *

"Final competitors please approach your gates!" a guard called into the room full of defeated competitors, except herself and one other.

Sakura gulped before she approached her respective gate. The guards were giving her the once over before shaking their heads. She ignored their demeaning gestures as she took the bow off from around her shoulder and held it shakily at her side. This was the opponent Itachi had warned her the most about. She had doubts about who her final opponent would ultimately be, but it seemed Itachi was an oracle that could see far into the tournament and was kind enough to warn her this was the man who could send her to her maker more than any other. The fact that she'd struggled with her first two matches that Itachi told her would be 'easy' made her queasy at the prospect of going up against someone Itachi wasn't sure she could win against. It almost made her want to throw in the towel. Almost. But knowing what was on the line between her and Sasuke and their love she couldn't stand for it.

"Approach!" the man called as Sakura and her opponent, Sassori, were just inches away from each other shaking hands.

His eyes were dead. He face was unreadable. Sakura felt herself chill in his presence. This was a hardened killer and she knew it. He was no amateur either to have made it this far in the tournament. She accredited her success thus far to luck and hard work, but he seemed like he was a born assassin. As soon as they parted Sakura tried her hardest to look intimidating as well, although she was shaking in her leather boots.

"Begin!" he shouted just as the horn was blown.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Dislcaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

Sakura reflexively felt her body move at the sound of the horn. Instantly she realized that Sassori had a unique magic she'd never seen before either. He was able to manipulate objects, and in this case he seemed to have crawled inside of a wooden puppet that had a giant metal scorpion tail that swished about the air wildly slashing at her. It took Sakura one glance to realize that the tip of the metal tail was coated in poison, if it so much as touched her she knew it was game over.

"Is that even allowed?" Sasuke growled in disbelief.

"It's a weapon" Itachi told him, "And this is the one opponent I wish I could tell you she can beat, but even I'm not sure."

Sasuke looked skeptically over at his brother before asking, "How do you know so much about all of these men? You seem to have a comment and turnout for each match."

"I watched all of them practice and train before this tournament, I then made predictions on the bracket and informed Sakura on what to expect and train for for the three opponents I knew she would face. Zaku, Sanosuke, and Sassori. I couldn't get a strong feel of Sassori's fighting style because every time I saw him practice he used a different puppet, but this one, I've never seen him use this one before, and that concerns me."

Sasuke didn't like the fact that even his older brother who'd managed to keep his cool so far this tournament wasn't even totally sure about the outcome of this match. He turned his attention back to the arena as he watched Sakura scramble around trying to dodge the metal tip of death that was frantically trying to make contact with her skin in order to make any kind of wound. It didn't take long for Sasuke to realize it was poisoned due to the way Sakura was wildly doing anything in order to keep the metal from touching her skin in any way.

Sakura finally drew a line in the dirt of the arena with her feet. She realized that Sassori although he seemed to be athletic and not even using his own body but manipulating a wooden one, wouldn't move from his spot in the center of the arena. A fatal flaw she realized. She began measuring the distance of his reach around the arena by making marks subtly with her feet and praying that they wouldn't get accidentally blown over or covered up from her shuffling around in order to keep from dying.

Little did Sakura realize that all her friends from the court had filed into the stands of the arena close to Sasuke and the royal family in order to watch. Karin was not present, but that was no surprise seeing as she wasn't a fan of violence, even if she got to see her number one rival for Sasuke's love killed. Hinata also couldn't attend, because she couldn't stand to see her friend hurt. The ones who had managed to make it were Neji, Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru. They had come in enough time to catch the tail end of the tournament and Ino was incredibly happy that her friend had advanced and was still in one piece. However the blond couldn't help but bite her fingernails as she saw her friend scramble trying to gather her wits about her while trying to come up with a plan of attack that would be effective against a giant set of body armor that was also part weapon and seemed to be impenetrable.

Sakura made a motion to reach into her quiver and drew and arrow out to aim at Sassori's puppet and she shot the arrow luckily making it past the tail that could've deflected it and it stuck into the wood without penetrating more than half an inch into the thick wood. She cursed under her breath while running alone the wall. Eventually she was going to run out of stamina and due to the previous two matches she'd already experienced she knew that that time was coming soon. It seemed that due to Sassori's fighting style of hiding inside a puppet without moving it seems he'd managed to retain most of his fighting stamina and was poised to fight like this for hours if needed.

"That can't be good" Sasuke muttered eyeing his brother out of the corner of his peripheral vision trying to read his brother's calculation expression.

Itachi grunted without elaborating while he kept watching the match unfolding in front of him.

"I can't stop" Sakura growled to herself willing her legs to keep moving as she felt her speed slowing to where she was now resorting to dodging the tail by jumping and flipping erratically around the arena.

"Even I didn't teach her that" Naruto hummed under his breath but unfortunately everyone else heard it and turned to look at him to elaborate, "When I trained her I didn't prepare her for this kind of combat unfortunately. She must be going off of pure instinct right now, which means she's being backed into a corner, this doesn't look good."

Ino started pulling at her strands of hair once she didn't have any fingernails left to chew off until Shikamaru took her hand in his giving her a stern look meant to comfort her and keep her form her compulsive behaviors. Ino blushed a little at the gesture before trying to keep her other hand occupied by gripping the arm rest of her chair with her knuckles turning white.

"Have faith" Neji finally sighed, "It might not look good but if she's going off instinct it means she hasn't given up just yet. She's still fighting."

Ino nodded with a stern expression trying to make herself feel better and assure herself that tomorrow she'd be patching up her best friend's wounds instead of putting her six feet in the ground.

Sakura felt her vision go blurry as she she stumbled with her footing for just a moment, but that one moment was all Sassori needed to make contact and make a huge slash on her leg. Sakura already knew that it was a matter of seconds before the poison would set in and she would be as good as a paralyzed rat about to be swallowed by a snake. Without hesitation she instantly lowered her hand already glowing green down to her leg but the poison was already starting to set in and she knew that she had only one other way of getting it out. She grabbed an arrow out of her quiver and stabbed the wound to make it even deeper causing her blood to pour out in the the arena and slowly pool at her feet. The audience erupted in whispers and gasps wondering why on earth she would stab herself.

Sakura heard Sassori chuckle as he said, "You're more intelligent than I gave you credit for. Most people wouldn't have known the best way to get my poison out is to bleed the wound that was poisoned. Smart girl. Unfortunately not smart enough. I'm sure you understand that this is the end of the line for you."

Sakura was kneeling trying to get the poison out of her wound while she carefully watched his metal type scorpion extension floating around in the air.

"Father" Sasuke growled impatiently, "If you don't call this off I will-"

"You won't" Fugaku interjected, "Because I spoke to Sassori before this match and specifically instructed him to only kill her if he felt like his life was in danger and to withhold and request an intervention before killing her."

"He doesn't care!" Sasuke almost shouted, "He's one of our best soldiers but he's seen too much of war to think about taking a life! Her's doesn't matter to him and he'll just come up with some reason and you know it. Just because you're king doesn't mean your words can control everyone the way you want!"

"Sasuke!" Mikoto hissed from the other Side of Fugaku leaning forward to look at her son with a stern expression that informed him he had verbally over stepped his bounds.

Fugaku just lifted his chin and looked downwards at his son with a rather unreadable expression before turning his attention back to the match.

Sakura had almost finished healing the wound on her leg after bleeding out most of the poison. She was concerned that some of it still lingered in her system and she could feel it too. That didn't bode well when she tried to stand up and fell over. Sasuke was about to stand up out of his chair and call the match when an unannounced presence behind him belted out "Don't you dare intervene in my pupil's fight! She must learn to save herself, or she will always be this vulnerable!"

Sasuke turned around to see Tsunade scowling at the arena. The blond doctor had the nerve to approach the edge of the arena and scream at the top of her lungs, "Remember your training! The time I cut your wrists and you were able to stop the bleeding yourself! Find that reserve of energy deep inside you that you didn't know you had! Use the technique I've been teaching you! Get up!"

Sakura froze at the sound of her beloved teacher's voice. She looked up into the stands to see Tsunade standing there by Sasuke with her hands cupped around her mouth yelling things at Sakura to get up. Suddenly Sakura looked over at Sassori and realized he was moving closer to her in order to finish the job. He was _toying_ with her, but soon enough she knew he was going to wish that he hadn't. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes. Her forehead began to glow before black lines broke out across her skin all over her body.

"What in the-" Sasuke growled he stared wide eyed at the sudden display of power in front of him, "This is your…" he looked at Tsunade.

"Mitotic Regeneration" she finished his sentence crossing her arms watching her student's transformation from novice to master in a matter of seconds.

Sasuke had only seen this ability used once when Tsunade was in dire straits on the battle field and was having to do the work of 100 soldiers and medics. He had no idea that Sakura was capable of achieving this kind of power in her lifetime let alone in a week. It was completely beyond him now if he should intervene or not. At this point he felt uneasy but more confident in Sakura's strength to win this battle herself.

Sassori's eyes went wide inside of his puppet though no one would know seeing as he was incased with the thing. He knew what the king had said but at this point he knew that he was about to be in some serious trouble just feeling the power resonating from this one small girl. He made a movement with the tail to go strait for her neck which was not missed by Fugaku or Sasuke, but before either of them could call off the match Sakura suddenly seemed to evaporate out of sight and just as Sassori was relocating where the pinkette had gone suddenly he felt his puppet smash into a million pieces as well as the bones in his side. He violently rolled outside of the puppet onto the ground and then crashed into the wall of the arena leaving cracks up the sides to match the previous battles. Sakura was practically glowing in energy as she approached him slowly cracking her knuckles. For the only time in his whole life Sassori saw his life flash before his eyes and his throat go numb with terror as he started trying to crawl towards his puppet to find anything that could possibly help him win this battle in a last ditch effort. As she walked over Sakura put her foot on his head and pushed it into the dirt of the ground.

"Surrender now and you'll escape with your life" she told him slowly applying pressure to his head until it hurt.

"Give me one good reason" he told her as he pulled a knife from the shattered limb of his puppet right next to him.

Before Sakura could really register what happened, Sassori had stabbed her right in the chest, deeply. Suddenly she was choking on her own blood. Sasuke screamed at the top of his lungs as he began to stand up about to run to her.

"Wait" Tsunade grabbed his arm firmly.

Sasuke could feel tears fighting to get out as he fought to keep them dry. However he noticed that Sakura had pulled the knife out herself and was still standing. Sakura couldn't explain the sensation of her body suddenly reconnecting the tissues inside her chest but all she knew was now she had a weapon, and Sassori didn't. She then held the dagger against his throat and said, "Surrender. If you move a muscle I'll kill you."

"You don't have the guts" he spat at her.

"Bet me" she growled as the knife slowly started to cut into the skin of his neck creating a trail of blood, "You just fatally stabbed me. You don't know how mad I am right now."

"It's part of the tournament" he sneered.

"So you won't have any hard feelings when I end your life?" she rhetorically asked him.

"Enough!" Fugaku bellowed intervening in the match.

Sakura's blood went cold not knowing how the king was going to call the match. She knew he had an incredible dislike of her and her wanting to marry his son with her current station that she wasn't even born into. However suddenly her chest lifted with his next statement.

"The winner is Sakura. The match is over!"

The entire stadium erupted in chaos. There were mixes of curses from the betting pool, and screams from the other people in the arena over the excitement of the result of the fight. Without realizing it Sakura had turned her fight switch off and with it her regeneration ability. Tsunade knew what followed next and Sakura collapsed to the ground. She then let go of Sasuke's arm as he didn't use the stairs but jumped over the edge and into the arena quickly scooping up the pinkette. He nodded at Sassori before picking her up bridal style and walking quickly out of the stadium. Tsunade had rushed around to the exit and met him while they both carried her into the carriage. Sasuke held her in his lap while Tsunade leaned over with her glowing hands to evaluate her physical condition.

"There's a possibility that after using that ability she wasn't able to completely heal the stab wound to her heart that Sassori gave her. Using that regeneration ability also has a huge setback, which is why I told her to never use it unless her life was in danger. It's because it physically weakens her and brings her to the brink of death after using it. It doesn't exactly 'heal' the wounds that are inflicted, but temporarily puts them off. Then the shock causes the body to have to take the brunt over a longer period of time in order to keep from physically dying immediately. So the longer it's used the heavier the impact. Luckily she only used it for less than five minutes, however having to heal that fatal wound from Sassori made a significant difference in the impact the regeneration had on her. It's why she's passed out now. I wouldn't expect her to wake up for a while."

"A while?" Sasuke asked with a raised brow in concern.

"Days" Tsunade clarified.

"Then how long did you pass out for when you had to use that Jutsu for almost a whole day of that battle?"

Tsunade bit her lip and looked away before she answered, "I was unconscious for two months."

Sasuke's eyes widened as the reality of the situation set in. He told himself that he would make sure Sakura never used that ability unless she absolutely was about to die. He wasn't happy about the situation but he knew that if she didn't have that ability activated, she wouldn't have won, and she probably would've died. He would also have a talk with his father when his family returned to the castle. His father had promised that Sassori was told to withhold his fatal force, yet he stabbed Sakura right in the chest at the end of the tournament instead of surrendering like he should've. To Sasuke that was an almost unforgivable move on Sassori's part, but Sasuke knew that the terror of war had changed Sassori for the worse, and Sassori was one of their best and most loyal soldiers. They couldn't afford to execute him or banish him with the upcoming campaign his father's been planning. His father has slowly been trying to intimidate and indoctrinate local villages in the surrounding area in an attempt to make a country instead of just a city state. So far only half of the surrounding towns have cooperated, but his father was going to march with a show of force or even take military action if they didn't plan on joining his kingdom. Sasuke thought that it was a little barbaric, but with the nation of water and nation of thunder just waiting to pounce on them should they show a lack of military power it made sense to build your forces and expand your kingdom in order to build up enough resources and population to wage war should it come upon you.

"She seems to be stable" Tsunade calmly remarked as she opened the carriage door and held it open for Sasuke to carry Sakura out.

Tsunade followed Sasuke up to Sakura's bed chamber. When the door crashed open and they carried Sakura inside the maid who was cleaning the place was surprised and shouted. She saw Sasuke carrying the girl and immediately looked concerned.

"She won" Sasuke looked over to her with a smirk to answer her worried expression and unspoken question.

The maid squealed in surprise and delight that the girl had won the tournament even though she was worse for ware.

"Wait till everyone hears about this!" She shouted giddily as she scurried out the room.

"Now you've done it" Tsunade grumbled, "They're going to party and get drunk before the official announcement is even made."

"My father already declared her the winner"

"Of the match" Tsunade said specifically, "She usually isn't crowned the victor of the tournament until the ceremony which as you can see she will have to be absent for."

"Then does that mean she'll have to forfeit?" he asked worried for a moment.

"Of course not" Tsunade told him, "They'll just put off making the official announcement until she recovers. It could be a few days, maybe even a week or two. Everyone will be very antsy because of it."

Sasuke nodded before he turned his attention back to the sleeping pinkette in the bed. He looked over at Tsunade before he told her, "You should probably help me bathe her and patch up any wounds she missed."

"There's nothing I can do for her at this point" Tsunade said, "The regeneration has taken it's course, anything untouched by the immeasurable power of the regeneration spell will have to heal on its own. I'll leave the bathing up to you." With a sarcastically playful wink. Tsunade stepped out of Sakura's chamber and closed the door behind her.

Sasuke rolled his eyes before he looked at his battered princess. There she was in her red tabard that made the blood stains hard to see, with her hair in knots from all the dodging around the arena. He carefully unsnapped her heirloom bracers and set them down with her bow Tsunade had carried in by the entrance to her room. He then put her clothes into a basket by her wardrobe with her other dirty garments to be washed by the maids. Although he was pretty sure that the tattered bloody garments would be thrown out by the maids. After taking off some of his heavier clothes like the chainmail shirt and his leather tunic, leaving him in just his hyde pants and white undershirt, he carried her into the bathroom and started the small fire place beneath her ceramic wash tub. He looked in a wooden cupboard in the bathroom and located some of the oils she usually bathed in and added a few drops of lavender, eucalyptus, and bergamot. He laid her limp body down on the tile by the fire to keep warm as he added water to the tub. after the tub was filled and smelled with the rich perfumes of the oils he picked the pinkette up and carefully submerged her into the water with her head against the back of the tub, soaking his shirt sleeves in the process. After realizing he got his shirt wet Sasuke just resorted to taking it off and hanging it over a rod close to the fire under the tub.

"Hello?" Came a voice from Sakura's bedroom.

Sasuke froze. He wasn't expecting anyone to come inside and he internally slapped himself for not locking the door. However just when he was about to poke his head out of the bathroom door and tell the maid to go away he saw that it was none other than Ino.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as she saw the bare chest of the prince in the doorway and looked away for a moment, "Celebrating her victory already, I assume?" She asked embraced with her cheeks burning red at possibly walking in on a private moment.

"Tch" Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest before answering, "Not exactly."

He walked back inside the bathroom and Ino was quickly following behind him, averting her eyes from his exposed skin. When she looked into the bathroom she saw her friend with her eyes closed leaning back against the tub and asked, "Is she sleeping?"

"No. She's comatose right now."

"What?!" Ino shrieked in surprise having been uninformed after Sakura was rushed out of the arena, "What happened?!"

"It was that ungodly ability you saw her use at the end of the match. It takes a toll on her body depending on how long she uses it. Tsunade said since she used it for only five minutes there's a good chance she'll only be unconscious for a few days, maybe just one day. She isn't sure. It depends on Sakura's resilience."

Ino nodded before she stepped carefully across the tile and up the steps to the tub. She saw Sakura's hair was a mess and quickly reached for a comb she saw sitting on a shelf by the bathtub and began combing her friends hair, crying.

"I was so afraid" Ino quietly sobbed, "That I was going to lose her. I was so scared that instead of combing her hair again like I do almost everyday, I would be helping plan the flower arrangements at her funeral."

Sasuke looked over at Ino for a moment before he spoke, "I was afraid I was going to lose my only soul mate, and the future mother of my children, my future queen. I was afraid that if I lost her I would be alone for the rest of my life. Fear doesn't even begin to describe the agony of having to sit in that chair for the better part of a day watching other men trying to batter and kill my future wife."

Ino looked over at Sasuke with sorrow in her eyes as she realized what she'd felt hadn't even begun to describe what Sasuke had been feeling for all three matches. Ino had only caught a glimpse of the last one. She could only imagine what Sasuke had witnessed for the other matches beforehand.

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered, "I really shouldn't be complaining."

"You're one of the closest friends she has here in this cold, isolating place. I'm sure that the way you felt was close to the way I did. There's no need to be sorry. You aren't complaining either. Expressing the way you feel is important sometimes."

Ino slowly ran her hands through her friends damp and slightly less tangled hair as she stood up to leave. She curtseyed to Sasuke before she quietly strode out of the bathroom drying her tears. "I'll come check on her tomorrow" she said before walking out and closing the door behind her.

Sasuke quickly stood and jogged over to Sakura's door right behind Ino, in order to lock it to prevent further intruders from coming in unannounced. He walked back into the bathroom and was relieved that she hadn't slid into the tub under the water in his absence, but was still soundly slumbering against the back of the tub. After a good hour long soak, Sasuke stopped feeding the fire of the tub and picked Sakura up carefully and laid her on the cold tile floor before walking over the get a towel that was hanging by the bathroom door. He picked her up with the towel and tried his best to dry her off before wrapping her in the towel and carrying her into her room to dress her in a night gown. After slipping the cloth over her nude body he slid her underneath her covers and put the sheets and a light blanket over her. Since it was almost mid summer he didn't want overheat her and make her wake up in a pool of sweat. After deciding she was situated he unlocked the door and popped his head out into the hallway to summon a maid standing just a few feet away. She came in the room and he told her that he wanted to grab the blond doctor out of the clinic to come back and check on Sakura.

A couple minutes afterwards the busty blond waltzed in and stood by the bedside of the unconscious pinkette before barking orders at the maid, "I need a pail of fresh drinking water, a bed pan from my clinic, and in two hours for dinner bring some chicken broth, please."

By tacking a "please" onto the end of her orders she saved herself a scowl from the old woman before the maid bustled out of the door to do what she was asked. Tsunade then spoke to Sasuke and told him that Sakura's condition showed no signs of change yet, but told him not to give up since it had only been a few hours.

"Be patient" she told him, "This kind of thing takes time. Even when she wakes back up and regains consciousness she won't be 100% for a quite a while. It may take another two days for her to regain the strength to walk, and even a week or two before she's able to exert herself in anyway. Try to understand that her condition isn't deadly right now, but it is a slow recovery. Such is the prince for using the regeneration jutsu."

Sasuke nodded without looking at the doctor as he gazed at Sakura's pale face and wondered if she was even still breathing. She seemed so comatose that she could be lying in a coffin and not look out of place.

* * *

"Sasuke…" Mikoto quietly sighed from the doorway of Sakura's room, "We all missed you at the feast tonight to celebrate the festival and the general's tournament."

Sasuke looked over to his mother with bags slowly forming under his eyes from the exhaustion as he answered, "I don't want to celebrate it without the victor."

Mikoto sorrowfully smiled as she saw Sakura lying in the bed and her son's unwavering gaze on her face. She walked over to her son and placed her hands comfortingly on his shoulders before giving them a small squeeze and whispering in his ear, "Your father approves of her now. She'll be crowned the victor when she recovers, as well as become your wife. Your engagement will be announced at the ceremony to make her a general and your wedding will take place two weeks after that."

"What?" Sasuke broke his gaze on Sakura to turn around and look at his mother in disbelief, "How do you know all of that?"

"Your father told me privately as we were getting ready for the feast, but he said not to tell anyone about it. It's just inside the royal family right now. Just your father, your brother, you, and I know about it. When Sakura wakes up you may tell her, but tell her not to tell anyone else. This is private business and hopefully will be a nice surprise for the entire castle."

Sasuke nodded before letting his mother kiss him on the cheek before walking out of Sakura's room, closing the door behind her. Sasuke noticed that the sun was starting to sink and the moon was starting to make Sakura look even more pale. Standing up to find a match he struck one and lit a few candles on her bedside then shook the small flame out before it could lick the tips of his fingers. After setting the used match down he walked over and gathered a few candles from around her room and lit them off of the other candles that were already burning by her bedside before placing them back in their holders around the room. After he had illuminated them he sat back down by her bedside and pulled her hand out from under the blankets. He held her hand and it was still warm, she was still alive. However he decided to put some pressure on her wrist with two of his fingers to track her heart rate. His heart skipped in fear when he counted and realized her heart rate was only 30 beats in a minute.

Without missing her queue Tsunade came back into the room to check on her pupil and raised a brow at the Uchiha before joking, "I expected to find you romantically holding her hand, not prodding her wrist."

Sasuke scowled at her before asking, "Is that low of a resting heart rate normal? I'm not a doctor, but I'm fairly sure that that's not a good sign. I've had mine measured while I was resting and it only drops down to 75 beats in a minute. Her's is only 30…"

Tsunade nodded before answering, "It's completely normal. She's essentially comatose right now. Her heart rate will gradually go up as she gets closer to regaining her consciousness, however you holding down her wrist counting over and over isn't going to make her wake up faster. Did you at least change the bedpan?"

"An hour ago."

"How much fun was that?" Tsunade rhetorically sneered.

Sasuke scowled at her not enjoying the joke before answering, "Awful, but I don't have a choice."

"You could always have the servants do it."

"If you want something done right," Sasuke squinted his eyes, annoyed at the blond woman, "You do it yourself."

"Have it your way" she said, "But if you find that you need relief, I'm just a call away. Let me know and have someone come get me, and I can watch her for a few hours while you rest. This kind of thing is going to exhaust you. The last thing I need is someone dragging you into the clinic in a coma."

Sasuke made a "tch" noise before rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, turning his attention back to the slumbering pinkette. After a few minutes checking over her body with her glowing hand Tsunade decided that Sakura was still in stable condition and recovering well. She didn't bother conversing with the Uchiha any further and simply left, closing the door behind her. It only took Sasuke another hour of staring at nothing but Sakura's face to realize that he was slowly nodding off into sleep. Before collapsing in the chair he decided that Sakura's bed was a better option. He walked around to the other side of the large bed and crawled in next to her laying on his side so he could still keep watch over her while he was sleeping.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

A day had passed and Sasuke anxiously paced Sakura's room. Tsunade had gotten his hopes up because Sakura's heart rate had increased to 65 beats in a minute. She could regain consciousness at any moment. Fugaku was anxious as well, to crown the victor of the tournament and finalize the arrangements for Sasuke and Sakura's engagement and eventual wedding. The sooner he marked this off his to do list, the sooner he could assemble the generals together to make plans for the upcoming military campaign in order to build their country. Fugaku had yet to make an appearance to check on his future daughter in law, which didn't particularly bode well with Sasuke seeing as she was soon to be his family.

Eventually Sasuke was pulled away from his thoughts when a different blond he wasn't expecting entered the room. "Naruto" he said with an almost questioning tone.

Naruto nodded at his friend before walking over to stand on the other side of Sakura's bed. He looked down at her and his gaze seemed full of empathy, then he looked at his friend who's face warranted even more pity. He then hardened his features before walking around the bed to get face to face with Sasuke.

"You can't just stay pent up in here. I can see the bags under your eyes and you haven't eaten a meal with everyone else in the dining hall for days. You can't live your life like this Sasuke, even Sakura wouldn't want it."

Sasuke scowled and was about to mouth off to his friend about how he shouldn't put words into Sakura's mouth just because she was sick and unconscious. However one look at the slumbering pinkette and he realized that Sakura really wouldn't want him to be in self isolation. He nodded at Naruto and decided that since there was still enough time for lunch that he and Naruto would go eat it down in the dining room along with everyone else.

* * *

The room broke out in whispers and a few shocked faces when the prince walked into the dining room. He scowled at all of them a little cynically as he wondered what was wrong with his appearance. He'd even gone back to his room to bathe and put on nicer clothes than the undershirt and basic pants he'd been wearing while taking care of Sakura.

"My lord" Karin gasped with concern as she scurried up to him and took his hand in hers while stroking it, "Is everything alright? We were all worried that you had shut your self away."

Sasuke scowled at her false sincerity since he already knew how Karin operated, as well as her relationship with Sakura. She wanted to be queen and that was it. She just liked his good looks and wanted to sleep with him. Aside from that she had no emotional attachment or fondness for him as a person what so ever. Without even saying a word to her, Sasuke tugged his hand free from hers and walked towards the serving table that had servants attending it.

"Young master!" A maid exclaimed with surprise, "If we had known you would be joining the dining hall we would've prepared something much nicer, I beg your pardon."

Sasuke just nodded and waved his hand indicating he didn't care about how articulate the food was. However his stomach was in terrible shape because he had only taken one meal while he was locked away in Sakura's room and it was at the urging of Tsunade since the doctor could clearly see him starting to whither away. Going the better part of 48 hours without food was something Sasuke had never done before. However as he approached the table he didn't feel his appetite returning to him. Grabbing a small plate of fine china he walked along the buffet style table and picked a very small piece of meat and a few pieces of fruits and vegetables before turning and walking towards one of the seats in the dining hall. Naruto had already eaten before he went to Sakura's room so he sat by his friend with a mug of ale and gave him a concerned face.

"Is that all you're going to eat?" Naruto asked almost sarcastically.

Sasuke scowled at the blond before answering, "I still don't have much of an appetite right now, but I figured this is better than eating nothing."

"Maybe you're sick?" Naruto raised the possibility in a questioning voice.

Sasuke shrugged off the possibility seeing as in his mind Sakura was the one that warranted attention at the moment. It was right then when his attention was broken by a commotion in the corridor outside of the dining hall. He quickly stood up pushing away the chair he was sitting in behind him. With a sharp turn he walked towards the entrance archway and pushed through a few rows of people to see the pinkette bracing herself against the stone of the entrance to the dining hall in one of her dresses still looking a little worse for ware, but awake. Sasuke didn't hesitate to run towards her and immediately grab her waist in a hug as he lifted her slightly off her feet and spun her around.

"I can't believe you came all the way down here by yourself. I leave you alone for a few minutes and that's the time you chose to wake up instead of the other several hours I've spent sitting next to you."

Sakura let a weak smile grace her lips that even reached her eyes before she returned to resting her weight against the stone wall and answered, "I'm sorry if I scared you. I just woke up and suddenly felt hungry, so I decided to come down here. I didn't think it would cause such a fuss."

"You've been unconscious for two, almost three days" he told her as if she should've been aware of the situation.

Sakura's eyes widened a little in shock before her face returned to it's normal expression and morphed into a scowl as Sakura put her hand against Sasuke's forehead, "But are you feeling ok? You look incredibly pale and your face is clammy."

"I feel-" before Sasuke could finish his sentence he blacked out for a moment, causing his weight to slightly fall to the floor as he kneeled trying to keep his vision from blurring.

"Get Tsunade!" Naruto shouted as he pushed through the same people Sasuke had just maneuvered through moments ago and kneeled next to his friend and Sakura.

* * *

"You're both idiots" Tsunade chastised Sakura and Sasuke who were now laying next to each other in separate beds in the castle's clinic.

Tsunade pointed her finger at Sakura as she sneered, " _You_ just regained consciousness from an energy consuming spell and could barely walk from mild atrophy to your legs, yet you decide to go for a walk. And _you_ ," Tsunade turned her pointed finger to Sasuke, "Starved yourself and deprived your body of sleep to the point of mental and physical collapse."

Naruto stood in the doorway trying not to laugh at his best friend, the prince, who was getting verbally slapped by none other than the iron fisted doctor herself. He was mildly concerned for the two of them though. It seemed just as Sakura was getting better Sasuke seemed to be getting worse. It wasn't five minutes into the lecture that the two of them were receiving when Fugaku himself walked into the clinic. When Naruto and Tsunade caught sight of the king they immediately stopped what they were doing and bowed with respect before he told them to look back up.

"How are they?" he asked Tsunade directly without acknowledging the presence of the two he was inquiring about that were laying just feet from where he was standing.

However that statement meant a lot to Sasuke even without being acknowledged. He had expected his father to only inquire about him and completely ignore Sakura's existence, but he had done the opposite. By asking "they" he was asking about _both_ of them. That basically meant that Sakura was now a priority to Fugaku as well, he cared about the two of them together. That one word might not have meant much to Tsunade or Naruto but Sasuke knew the significance of it.

"They're both morons" Tsunade said flatly with her eye twitching in inward irritation, "But physically, they should both fully recover just fine in a few more days."

Fugaku nodded and Tsunade elaborated further on each of their conditions. Sakura's was just a simple task of building her strength back up from laying bed unconscious for a few days. Sasuke's was slightly more complicated. By not eating and not sleeping his immune system had taken a curve ball and he seemed to have picked up a virus of some kind so he was suffering mildly. He also needed to build his strength and his immune system back up, but it seemed that Sakura would recover before he did. Sasuke chuckled from his bed at Tsunade's attempt to demoralize the two of them and ended up in fits of coughing.

Fugaku turned his attention and concern to his son's pale before asking him, "Why did you do this to yourself?"

Sasuke shrugged before letting smirk crawl onto his face before answering, "When you care about someone sometimes you do extreme things for them."

Fugaku just mildly furrowed his brows, fleeting his gaze to Sakura for a moment before returning his gaze to Sasuke telling him, "Both of you recover soon. We have a lot of preparation to do."

Sasuke just did a salute from laying in his bed before turning back over on his side and coughing. Sakura turned on her other side so that she was facing Sasuke while his body was turned on its side facing her as well. She gave him a look of concern as she watched him struggle with his coughing and breathing.

"It's nothing serious" Tsunade tried to assure Sakura, "I'm making a mix of herbs he can drink as tea that will act as a decongestant and antibiotic to get whatever mucus and bacteria are lingering out of his system. He shouldn't be too far behind you in feelings better."

Sakura tried to relax a little. Tsunade gave her a little peace of mind, but she wouldn't believe it until she saw it. After losing her family and everything she held precious in this world the last thing she wanted to do was let her guard down and lose Sasuke.

* * *

Later that night Sasuke and Sakura were still sleeping in the clinic beds with IV drips Tsunade had set up to drip over night with their individual medications she'd made. Sakura woke up in the middle of the night and silently watched Sasuke's chest rise and fall. She could see the struggle in each breath he took and her heart ached. He couldn't have been getting good quality sleep like that, and sleep is what he was needing most after exhausting himself for Sakura's sake.

It was then that Sakura had the idea to quietly slip out of her bed and kneel on the floor next to him. The moonlight was the only illumination she had to work with as she tried to hover her hands over his chest. Immediately her hands started radiating a vibrant green that could've acted as a night light in the dark clinic. She only managed to try her healing magic on Sasuke for a matter of seconds before he grabbed her hands, making her lose her focus and stop her channeling her healing to her hands.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked her venomously when she looked up at his face.

Sakura bit her lower lip slightly quivering as she whimpered, "I have to do something."

"Yes, you do." Sasuke bit back at her, "You need to rest."

"But…"

"But nothing" Sasuke growled, "I won't just watch you exhaust yourself again. You've used enough healing magic in the tournament to last you a lifetime. You need to regain your strength before you're needed again."

Sakura knew what he was talking about. The military campaign was all Fugaku could talk about. Their wedding wasn't even on his radar even though Mikoto was already planning and made sure that Fugaku knew it was just as important as his conquests even though he didn't seem to think so. Sakura rested her face in her hands as she began to cry in frustration.

"I feel so useless" she groaned into her hands, "you're laying here sick and you won't even let me heal you…"

"Tsunade's already doing that. You don't need to over work yourself too." he tried to reprimand her a little less harshly now that she was crying.

"But… I don't want to lose anyone else" Sakura finally started sobbing into her hands now that she'd finally told Sasuke what it was she was feeling.

Sasuke looked at her with wide eyes before returning to his normal jaded facial expression. He thought for a moment and realized that even though he'd given her all this wealth, title, security, a promised title of future queen, and many other things, she had still lost so much. It made sense that she was afraid of someone else she deeply cared for dying on her.

"I won't die" Sasuke assured her, "I have too many things left I need to do."

"Like what?" She asked scowling trying to stop her tears.

"You" Sasuke said as he tried not to smirk.

Sakura slapped his chest playfully before realizing what she'd done. Sasuke erupted in a mix of chuckling and wheezing as Sakura tried to heal his chest again to make it stop. Sasuke grabbed her hand, returning to his stoic expression from before.

"But really," he grunted at her, "I don't want to lose you either. If you keep doing this to yourself and running out of energy over everything eventually you're going to collapse and you won't be able to recover. So recover now while you have the time, because when we're both back on our feet we won't have any rest for a long time."

Sakura nodded trying to wipe away the remainder of her tears from earlier while willing the ones at the corner of her eyes not the fall. Sasuke felt a little bad for not completely understanding her and decided he would deal with the screaming and yelling that was sure to come in the morning later. He held onto Sakura's arm and pulled her up into the clinic bed with him. Sakura squealed a little in surprise as Sasuke pulled her in next to him. He pulled her IV bag over and hung it next to his before he crawled back under the covers pulling the pinkette against his chest as she let his ragged breathing lull her to sleep.

* * *

"I should've expected as much" Tsunade grumbled as she walked into the clinic the next morning.

She didn't have the heart to wake the two that morning when she walked into the clinic to untangle them from each other. Admittedly it was a bit of an uncomfortable sight at first, but after tactfully refilling their IV bags with more medicine she didn't see the need to wake either of them up since both of them needed rest more than anything else she could give them.

Eventually after Tsunade had been shuffling around she noticed that Sasuke's breathing was starting to sound labored again. She looked over her shoulder to see him staring at the ceiling and she put her hands on her hip before asking him, "Why are you making those breathing noises?"

He grimaced a little before answering, "I really wanna cough, but Sakura's still asleep and it'll wake her up."

"That's some strong will then" Tsunade teased him, "You stayed like that all night? Not coughing?"

"I was so tired last night after I feel asleep I didn't think about it."

"Fair enough" she grumbled while writing notes in separate file folders on her desk, "I'm not your mother, but you might eventually want to wake her up. You never know when you're father's going to pay a surprise visit here, and I don't want to get in trouble for allowing the prince to sleep with his bride before the wedding."

"You know better than that" Sasuke grinned, "It's too late to try and save that sentiment."

Tsunade rolled her eyes before sneering, "I really didn't need to know that, but ok. Besides I'm pretty sure last night the two of you were so ragged and exhausted that neither of you had the energy or stamina to sully those sheets."

"Don't underestimate me" Sasuke smirked before pinching the skin between his nose trying to scowl away the sensation to cough until his lungs gave out.

Tsunade just spun around on her stool and scowled at him deeply before barking at him, "Just cough already! I gave you an expectorant that's supposed to make you cough everything up! If you hold it in you'll hurt yourself you idiot."

Sasuke just scowled back at her before he groaned and gave in to the tickle in his throat and started shifting the mucus around that was built up in his chest. Immediately after, Sakura started fidgeting and squirming to life before slowly opening her eyes. Sasuke looked down at her with a weary expression before turning his attention back to Tsunade.

"Wake up" she said unsympathetically, "Romance is over. Get your butt in your own bed so I can get you started on some exercises to strengthen your muscles back up."

Sakura started blushing realizing she was still tangled up with Sasuke in his bed with Tsunade looking right at them. After her expression of shock for a few seconds her brain turned back on and she crawled back out of Sasuke's bed quickly and scurried back to her own feeling embarassed.

"You" she hissed at Sasuke, "I don't want to hear your smartass comments for the rest of the morning, go back to sleep."

Sasuke just flopped back down into the pillows on his bed before evening out his breathing and trying to drift off into a semi-comfortable sleep.

"Now that we've finally put the princess to sleep let's have a look at your progress over the past couple days."

Sasuke rolled his eyes from behind his closed eyelids at Tsunade's comment. The doctor tested all of Sakura's reflexes with a small triangular mallet and rotated all her limbs to see her flexibility. After that Tsunade had Sakura do some calisthenic exercises to see how functional her decreased muscle mass was. Pleased with what she saw, she sent Sakura out of the clinic after a few more hours of IV medicine. Sasuke wouldn't deny that he was disappointed when he woke up and the bed next to him was made with fresh linens that were no longer occupied by a certain pink haired disaster.

"Don't worry about her" Tsunade said without turning around to face Sasuke knowing he was now awake, "She'll be fine. Worry about yourself. I told her that what you had was nothing serious, but you have pneumonia. If you don't get that infection in your lungs to die down and cough out all the mucus then you'll be in trouble.

"What kind of trouble?" Sasuke asked crossing his arms.

"One foot in the grave kind of trouble" Tsunade finally turned around to face him, "I didn't lie to your father that you would be fine, but that all depends on how much effort you put into resting not just your body, but your mind. The reason you still aren't getting enough sleep is because you're constantly thinking too much about everything and stressing out."

"I'm not stressed" Sasuke ground out bitterly.

"You can't go see Sakura right now. Your wedding hasn't been announced yet. You're planning for a military campaign in a matter of days. Your future wife is going to be fighting on the battle field with you, making her liable to injury. Your father is expecting great things from you during this whole military expansion. Your mother is shoving wedding plans down your throat. Oh, and none of your friends besides Naruto have bothered to visit you. Yea, you aren't stressed at all. I can see that all the way from here."

Sasuke just kept his mouth shut as he slammed back down on the bed and turned to face away from her. Tsunade just smirked at his childish behavior before returning to her books and other poultice guides that had several other different remedies for bacterial infections in the lungs. She had to find something that would get Sasuke back up on his feet fast or else she was going to be in hot water with the king as well as Sakura. The last thing she wanted was Sakura storming in here trying to use her healing energy and draining more of her life force.

* * *

"Still not doing good?" Ino asked a few days after Sakura had been released from the clinic.

The two were sitting downstairs in the women's chamber where many of the girls from he upstairs castle dormitories were sitting and chatting. Sakura and Ino had made themselves comfortable, each with a cross stitching project on one of the sofas on the far end of the room. They noticed that as usual, Karin's gossip was the focus of the room. Sakura did her best to pay it no mind, until she heard Karin take it too far.

"I heard that the tournament was rigged. The prince arranged the tournament to be thrown in her favor. Of course she would never last on the battle field. He just did it because having a woman get beaten to a pulp in the arena would be unsightly, right?"

"Sakura" Ino grunted under her breath trying to gain her friend's attention as well as issue a warning, "Let the queen deal with it."

"The queen isn't here" Sakura spat out.

"If you go over there and make a scene with any kind of physical contact they will try to discredit you and make you seem like a barbarian. Most people are already uneasy about you practicing military arts and still being considered a princess and future queen. Karin's already lost, don't give her a leg up." Ino lectured her friend.

"I won't use physical force" Sakura grunted before setting her needlepoint down and walking over aggressively towards Karin.

Ino wanted to face palm as she watched Sakura saunter over to the narcissistic queen of delusion. Sakura was a smart girl, but Ino felt like being asleep for a few days must've killed a few of her brain cells. This was a horrible idea and Ino knew it.

"And what accomplishments have you made in your lifetime Karin?" Sakura asked snakily standing in front of Karin who was addressing a group of about five other girls.

"Me?" Karin pointed to herself, "Well I am an _actual_ duchess. I won the ladies archery contest at the Nakamura estate last summer. Oh, and ladies' archery is where you actually shoot a bow with a dress, so you're still considered a woman."

A few of the girls snickered at Karin's backlashing statement before Sakura finally put her foot down, "You listen here" Sakura snarled at the red head, "I'm _not_ a duchess. I'm the crown princess, the future queen, and one of the five generals. You'll do well to remember that the next time you decide to take a jab at me. I don't just shoot bows in a dress at still targets. I shoot to kill and defend this country. Something that you will never be able to do because you're a pompous bitch. You also _aren't_ an actual duchess, you're only here as a formality because your father hasn't gotten a crest yet."

"But you aren't the queen _yet_ either" Karin said with a smug smirk looking over Sakura's shoulder.

When the pinkette spun around she found herself face to face with the actual queen, Mikoto. Sakura inwardly beat herself for being so stupid and running her mouth like that. She didn't need to be told to follow Mikoto as the queen walked out of the room knowing Sakura was right behind her.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

Sakura had followed Mikoto down a hallway to a private sitting room. The queen gestured to an empty arm chair for Sakura to sit in as the queen paced the room for a few minutes before trying to find a way to best phrase her words.

"You can't…" she sighed as she turned around, "You can't just talk to nobles like that, even unofficial ones" Mikoto wiped a hand over her face.

"I know what you were trying to do and Karin is definitely a thorn in my side. Almost nobody likes her except for maybe five minutes when she's gossiping like that. I've had to send her away several times back to her parent's estate for tarnishing ladies' reputations here that were trying to wed with false tales of fornication and the like. If she doesn't like someone she runs her mouth off at them like a sword. You have to understand the balance here. Don't give her ammunition to ruin your reputation either."

Sakura didn't say anything but played with the palms of her hands as Mikoto sat in an arm chair that was adjacent to hers before continuing her lecture, "The nobles here are what gives the king power. If the king treats the nobles fairly then they give him access to their lands, their armies, their assets, and so on. If you upset the nobles and threaten them all and treat them the way you treated Karin just now, they will band together and try to destroy you through a rebellion. I think the last thing you want to do to Sasuke is have him dethroned."

Sakura shook her head in agreement. She didn't want that to happen to Sasuke.

"You have to be tactful about these things. If a noble is genuinely in the wrong, has broken the law, or committed treason then the king is usually justified in punishment after providing evidence, such as seizure of assets, relinquishing their title, jail, sometimes even death, depending on the severity of the crime."

Sakura just kept looking down at her palms trying to receive the queen's lecture without disgracing herself even further. After biting on her lower lip she saw Mikoto's eyes soften a little before she spoke again.

"Look, I will personally talk to Karin. She's done this far too many times and it's about time she's silenced permanently or leaves disgraced. I'll be writing a letter to her father issuing an official warning. The next time Karin so much as opens her mouth about anybody whether or not it's true her father will be barred from receiving a noble crest and Karin will not be allowed to set foot back inside the castle. I have the authority to do this, but you have to promise me in return that you'll stay away from her and refrain from interacting with her in anyway. If you fuel the fire then I won't be able to justify my actions again Karin and her family. Remember what I said about if a noble is truly in the wrong then action can be taken against them? If you leave Karin alone and her gossiping stands alone without reason then it's justified to give her an official warning."

Sakura looked up wide eyed at the queen at the possibility of never having to deal with the red head ever again. Of course Sakura wouldn't go out of her way to expedite the process even though she couldn't stand the woman. She didn't care if Karin stayed or went. The only thing Sakura cared about was Karin leaving her alone. Fortunately if the queen did what she promised then it would be almost certain that Karin would leave Sakura alone. Sasuke no doubt would be happy with the arrangement. Even with him being betrothed to Sakura, Karin was still shameless in her advances on Sasuke. It irritated Sakura mostly because it was a annoying, not that the pinkette felt threatened by her.

"Thank you" Sakura bowed politely before standing up to excuse herself.

Mikoto nodded to her before Sakura left the parlor. Once the pinkette was back out in the hallway though she was unexpectedly greeted by a different blond than normal.

"Yo" Naruto held up his hand with an ear to ear grin, "Glad to see you're back up on your feet. When are you going to come back and train? The conquest is going to start off soon, in fact I think there's a war meeting in a few days after your induction as a general."

Sakura looked up at Naruto a little surprised, "I knew that there would be a ceremony when I was well, but I didn't expect things to progress quite this fast. Do you know when it is I'm supposed to be inducted as a general?"

"Pretty sure the day after tomorrow is when they're going to do it. If you look out into the front courtyard you can see them already setting up for it. It's turned into a pretty big deal. You realize that you are the first and only female to ever be a general right? The wife of the first king accompanied him on military campaigns as an archer, but she was never officially an officer or general in the army."

Sakura blushed not fully realizing what a huge deal this seemed to be. After walking with Naruto through the castle she realized she was already at her bedroom door.

Turning to Naruto she thanked him, "I appreciate you walking me here. If you want I'll come outside tomorrow and we can spar, but you'll have to go easy on me, I'm still not at 100%."

"Sure" he smiled at her before bowing and turning on his heel to leave back down the hallway.

"I expected as much" came a huff from Ino who was walking down the hall up to Sakura while she was still standing outside of her bedroom, "He seems to be the only one on the men's court who cares about the both of you. The other boys are too busy chasing skirts of the other ladies to really give a damn about Sasuke's recovery. It almost makes me a little mad."

"Isn't Shikamaru one of those 'skirt chasers'?" Sakura asked holding her hand over her mouth to stifle a grin.

Ino blushed before she smacked Sakura's arm and grumbled, "That's different."

"Whatever you say" Sakura laughed as she opened her bedroom door and left it open for Ino to follow inside behind her.

The two girls asked the servants to bring some tea and quietly talked the rest of the day. Sakura was itching to go do something however she knew that promising to go train tomorrow would be a workout enough for two days since she was still recovering. She had no doubt Naruto would take it easy on her while she caught up, but what she was really nervous about was if Sasuke would get any better in enough time to regain his strength as well. She knew that he was as good a warrior as any of the generals and he would be needed if their military campaign was going to succeed. Every skilled man made a difference.

"Sakura" Ino finally grabbed the pinkette's attention, "What are you going to do about the ceremony?" Ino asked her friend for the third time since she wasn't listening.

"Uhm, I don't know. I guess I'll have to ask the king. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to wear, or do, or say, or what's expected of me." Sakura suddenly came to a realization that scared her.

She had never thought about it since she was so focused on training and winning the tournament. She was more concerned with surviving rather than worrying about her speech for being promoted to general. After a minute she looked at Ino and shrugged it off. She had a sparing match with Naruto tomorrow that she hoped might clear her mind a bit as well as offer a good distraction from her worries about Sasuke. Afterwards she'd clean up and the hopefully be successful in requesting an audience with the king to ask him what he wanted her to do with the ceremony.

"I don't think that's a bad idea" Ino sighed, "But be careful. You can't act around the king like you do with Sasuke. Sasuke let's you get away with a lot of small things in terms of etiquette and respect that the king would never tolerate from you."

"Such as?" Sakura asked.

"Such as the way you asked the question with a rhetorical sassiness in your voice. He also doesn't tolerate being talked over, or not bowed to, or addressed informally."

Sakura gulped a little as her throat felt dry. All the time she'd encountered the king she was usually under Sasuke's protective presence beside her, so the king couldn't really say or do too terribly much without upsetting his son. Obviously the king was sovereign and could easily harm Sakura if he so wanted to, but he had a soft spot for Sasuke and since Sasuke had a soft spot for Sakura somehow she was an indirect soft spot for Fugaku. But Ino's words haunted her since the king wouldn't stand any lack in manners.

* * *

"You ready this time?" Naruto asked as he cracked his knuckles.

Sakura smirked at him before she stretched her own arms over her head before assuming her fighting stance, "More ready than last round."

Naruto charged as Sakura as he tried throw a punch right at her head. Of course she used her small size to outmaneuver him before using her leg to swing under his legs and catch him off balance. Instead of falling backwards Naruto managed to do a flip to keep his footing before trying to use his elbow to go strait for Sakura's ribs. The pinkette side stepped him before grabbing on of his arms and folding it behind his back. Naruto instantly grabbed onto her before trying to flip her onto the ground. Sakura used her legs to manage climbing up onto Naruto's back and placing him in a choke hold. Naruto struggled to unlatch her arms from around his neck. Before he passed out though he managed the throw her forwards onto her back in the grass with an thud as the air was knocked out of her lungs causing her choke for a minute.

"Sorry" Naruto smiled, "Looks like you caught me off guard. Good job"

"Thanks" Sakura rolled onto her stomach before trying to stand back on her feet, "Best 7 out of 13?" she asked sheepishly.

Naruto was beating her pretty badly. He was careful not to injure Sakura though. Most of the sparing they were doing was a mixture of hand to hand combat. Naruto mostly focused on a wrestling sort of feel trying to teach Sakura to manipulate her opponents weight and force against them. However since she was still recovering she couldn't full on beat-up on Naruto and kick his butt. He knew she was probably fully capable of it too if she were completely recovered.

"That should be enough" came a voice from several feet away before walking up to them in the training field by the stone armory.

"Itachi" Sakura said his name in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Father sent me to fetch you" Itachi said, "However I will let him know you might be just a little while, since I'm assuming you don't want to meet him covered in sweat with grass on your clothes and in your hair."

Sakura looked up and saw a few blades of grass had made their way into her pink tresses as she tried to pick them out while asking Itachi, "Why does he want me to come see him?"

"It's about the ceremony tomorrow" Itachi told her.

He looked over at Naruto with a polite smile before turning his attention back to the pinkette, "He knows you're probably unprepared, so he wants to tell you what's going to happen. He also wants to brief you for the war meeting in a couple of days. It'll look good if you're caught-up on what's going on."

Sakura nodded as she waved at Naruto and thanked him for the sparing and workout. She felt a little of her anxiety melt away from being able to finally exert herself again.

"You shouldn't push yourself too hard yet" Itachi told her, "I'm not sure your body's ready to handle it."

"I feel fine" She told him with a scowl, "Besides, It's Sasuke I'm more worried about."

Itachi sighed as he said, "He's still in the infirmary, however I was told by Tsunade that he's started responding to a new treatment she's giving him to help the infection in his lungs."

"That's good" Sakura mumbled as she looked down at the stone floor.

If Sasuke weren't so sick, he would be the one walking Sakura through the castle to her room then to the king. Hell if it were Sasuke they would probably have a little secret rendezvous of skin on skin in her room before getting ready to meet the king. Sakura didn't dare think of that with Itachi though. In a way he intimidated her with how he was always so silent and calculating. Sasuke was the same way, but he shared his thoughts with her which put her mind at ease. Itachi didn't grant her that curtesy, so it made walking in mostly silence rather uncomfortable.

"Thanks" Sakura bowed as she saw her bedroom door in front of her, "You don't have to wait, you can just tell the king I will be there shortly as soon as I'm presentable."

Itachi nodded not wanting to argue with her and walked back down the hall. He had delivered the message his father had asked him to, Fugaku hadn't asked Itachi to deliver her on a silver platter personally, so he didn't see why he needed to stick around if he was being told it wasn't necessary.

* * *

"Quickly!" a maid ushered Sakura out of the bath and was combing her hair into a proper up-do.

Normally Ino would do it, but she apparently was not in her room at the moment and was out somewhere in the castle. Sakura was hustling to put a dress on as quickly as possible. She found a slimming green dress that was sleeveless as well as a headband of Ivy to wear around her head that matched the color of her dress.

"You look stunning" the maid smiled at Sakura before ushering her out of the room down the hall towards the king's throne room.

Much to Sakura's surprise it was empty as the door attendant announced her presence to the king before escorting her inside. Sakura stood feeling very intimidated as Fugaku by himself sat on one of two golden thrones in the room of a few stairs on an elevated platform. Sakura kneeled and lowered her head before Fugaku told her to rise. The pinkette avoided eye contact with him since Ino told her that in general to make eye contact with someone who was higher in power than you is rude.

"Why are you so nervous?" Fugaku asked with a scowl, "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Uhm, that's not it your majesty, I'm sorry" Sakura stammered.

"Then what's bothering you so much?" He asked not wanting to continue onto business until she stopped shaking.

"I'm afraid of offending your grace since I'm not fluently versed in manners yet. I beg your pardon."

"You don't need to beg me for any kind of pardon" Fugaku grunted, "You've done nothing wrong child. Here, have a seat" Fugaku said as he pointed to a sofa that was off to the side of his thrown at the bottom of the stairs.

Sakura bowed before making her way over to the sofa and carefully sitting down on it and looking back up towards the kings feet and not his face.

"I know you're nervous about tomorrow, and the days after, but I'm here to tell you that your job in this whole ceremony is fairly simple. The only part that's a little frustrating is that we'll have to fit you for custom armor" Fugaku grunted as he scratched his chin.

"Armor?" Sakura asked a little surprised, "You'll be wearing metal armor. Leather armor is good for mobility and sparring, but when it comes to leading armies you need to protect yourself a little better from a larger number of enemies. You'll need plate armor. Since your figure is different than a standard man's, we can't just fit you for a size. If you don't mind going to the blacksmith right outside the palace gates he'll take care of it and work through the night to have it ready by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, your grace" Sakura said as she lowered her head in a bow.

"It's not a problem. I need to make sure my future daughter in law is well equipped and ready for battle" Fugaku smiled for the first time that Sakura had ever seen, "Anyways, onto other business. The ceremony is easy. You aren't expected to say anything. You'll just need to wear your armor and stand there while the monks give a blessing and I give the speech speaking about your merits before your given a sword that has the general's crest emblazoned on it. After that I'm sure all the courtesans and townsfolk will burst out into scattered parties everywhere and celebrate."

Sakura nodded before she breathed a sigh of relief, "I was so worried I was going to have to remember lines, or do something strange" she laughed a little under her breath.

Fugaku chuckled a little before he told her, "Don't worry. It'll all be taken care of tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be able to find Mikoto and she'll be able to help you too."

Sakura nodded before Fugaku raised another question, "How's my son?"

The pinkette gulped a little before answering, "He's still in the infirmary. Itachi told me that he's responding well to a new medicine that Tsunade has made for his lung infection."

"Good" Fugaku grunted, "I'm hoping he'll be well enough to at least be able to sit in on the ceremony tomorrow and hopefully attend the war meeting in a few days."

Sakura nodded before she said, "I'd be happy to go check on him today and give you a report."

Fugaku smiled at her, "cheeky girl" he laughed, "It's ok. I can go check on him myself as soon as I'm done with a few meetings this afternoon, though thank you for the offer. Be gone with you off to the black smith" he said the last part with a smile that left Sakura confused as she bowed once against before quickly walking out of the throne room.

* * *

"This is definitely not my usual fare" The blacksmith commented as he took measurements around Sakura's chest, waist, shoulders, arms, before adding on, "But I don't mind a challenge."

Sakura just rolled her eyes at him as he continued to write down numbers and use the tape measurer around her body. It made her feel a little self conscious about the fact that her muscles probably weren't as toned right now as they were for the general's tournament. After feeling mildly violated at the measuring ribbon that constricted around her boobs, Sakura was eventually told she could leave and she didn't waste any time in scurrying back to the castle to check on her fiancé.

"Don't worry" Tsunade told the pinkette in the doorway, "He was much better when he woke up earlier today. He's just resting right now. He needs a lot of that."

Sakura nodded before quietly taking a seat in a stool near his bed and gazing down at his placid face. He looked so calm and at peace. She was happy that she could see even just a little of his color returning to his face. She was hopeful that if she sat there long enough he might wake up, but the time was getting late and even Tsunade was about to leave the clinic. She urged Sakura to go back and sleep since she had a big day tomorrow. The pinkette looked one last time at Sasuke's sleeping face before placing a kiss on his cheek and standing to leave.

* * *

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Sakura asked as she held up the plated armor that next morning, "Does this stuff even go over a petticoat and corset?"

"No" came an answer in the doorway as Sakura covered herself with Ino stepping in front of her as a shield.

"Itachi!" Ino yelled, "You should never walk in on a lady while she's dressing!"

"Too bad she's a general now, not a lady."

"She's still a woman! What would your brother do if he knew you were peeping on his fiancé?"

Itachi just shrugged as he said, "Well I could tell you how to put that on, but since you want me to leave I'll let you put it on the wrong way and show up to the ceremony disheveled."

"Wait!" Sakura finally blurted out with a red face, "Show me, but don't do anything weird!"

Itachi smirked at her he turned on his heel and started walking towards her. Ino mouthed something to Sakura that she assumed was along the lines of 'what are you thinking?

Itachi picked up an undershirt and threw it to her before he said, "Put this on, no corset, no petticoat."

Sakura's face turned beet red as she turned around to only expose her back to Itachi as she loosened the fabric of the corset and took off the petticoat before quickly slipping the shirt on and looking over her shoulder for further instruction.

"Put your arms up and slip this over your head" he held the torso piece of armor before slipping them over your head, "This is going to sound weird, but you might need to adjust your breasts into the hollowed out part in the chest plate. Do that before I tighten it."

Sakura blushed at the instruction as she fidgeted with her hands under the armor trying to get them to fit right.

After she had stopped fidgeting Itachi pulled on some leather straps to tighten the chest and back plate to her body before trowing a pair of leather pants at her, "You can go take your underskirt off in the bathroom and slip that on. I'm assuming you know how to fasten pants yourself."

"Of course I do" Sakura scowled at Itachi before scurrying into the bathroom to put the pants on.

After she'd come back out he slid the leg plates on with more leather straps before having her slip into the metal boots, and finishing up by putting the arm guards on. Itachi smirked at her. She looked like a general, but a very voluptuous one. The blacksmith had made her armor well as it didn't hide her curves at all.

"Now you look like a warrior" Itachi said with a triumphant smirk before Ino rushed her over to sit in front of the vanity to do her hair.

"This isn't the most comfortable thing to sit in" Sakura commented as Ino made her hair into a braid that circled around her head.

"You'll be standing for the ceremony, and kneeling for a short amount of time. You don't need to worry about that. The party afterwards you'll change into something more comfortable. A dress or your leather and silk armor."

"Hurry Sakura" Ino instructed her friend after finishing her hair.

It was in a beautiful braid that made an infinity shape on the back of her head. After grabbing onto Sakura's plated arm Ino ushered her down the hall towards the front of the castle in hopes of Itachi being able to guide them to where Sakura was supposed to be. After being confronted with a large crowd of people Sakura felt Itachi grab her wrist as she grabbed onto Ino's and they wove through the crowd, hearing people gasp and whisper while she pushed by them. Eventually the edge of the crowd broke open to the wooden platform where she saw several people who were dressed like they were important sitting up there. She recognized one person in particular with fiery red hair. She was sure it was him when he turned around to face her.

"Gaara?" she asked confused.

Gaara simply gave her a serene smile before he calmly explained, "I'm one of the five generals."

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

Sakura was in slight disbelief as she saw Gaara face her and hold out his hand to her in the same hand shake greeting as when they'd first met.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sakura asked confused as she took his hand, "I didn't think it was important at the time. I knew if you won we'd meet again soon enough."

Sakura shook his hand before giving him a skeptical look as a familiar person walked up beside her and wrapped a hand around her waist.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked in the same amount of confusion as when she'd met Gaara, "What are you doing here?"

"How can I miss my fiancé's big day?" He asked as he looked down at her.

Sakura noted how his skin wasn't as pale and he didn't have nearly as much trouble standing. It was hard to believe he'd made so much progress overnight since when she'd last seen him. Reaching out to touch his face as if not believing it Sasuke quickly grabbed her hand and lowered it before smirking at her.

"Just can't keep your hands to yourself, can you?" he teased before letting go of her and walking towards his father who was sitting next to his mother.

Sakura watched him walk away with Itachi by his side to their chairs. It wasn't as immaculate as the throne she'd seen in the throne room, however it was still an impressive looking set of chairs. The generals all sat in their own chairs as well. Sakura realized she was the only one standing and felt a fool for it. However upon further inspection of the stage she realized there were no more chairs, so was she supposed to stay standing. A giant gong rang out and the crowd was silenced as the king himself stood from his throne and walked towards Sakura with a sword in his hand. Sakura gulped and bowed deeply before he bid her to stand back up.

"This woman is the first to prove herself in my eyes. She has risen above the circumstances she was given, and has forged her own path to victory, granting her this position as one of my woman's tenacity is immeasurable and will be invaluable in the heat of battle. I am pleased to also announce that she will soon wed my son, in one week's time. I will be honored to welcome her as a member of my family and add strength to my bloodline."

Sakura slightly blushed at the fervent compliments the king was paying her. It was obvious to her that he meant every word he said and he had finally accepted her which made her so happy she wanted to cry, however she felt that crying at such a pivotal moment would hardly be appropriate. After Fugaku drew the sword from its sheath and gestured Sakura to kneel, she lunged down and put one knee on the ground while lowering her head.

"With this sword, I now grant you the title of general. You will be expected to do your duties until death or pardon, or so face punishment from the crown. Do you accept?"

There was a slight silence until Sakura realized she'd been asked a question and answered, "I do, your grace."

After tapping the blade on each of Sakura's shoulders and re-sheathing the sword Fugaku commanded, "Then rise, and accept your responsibility."

Sakura stood as she held out both hands with her head lowered and accepted the sword Fugaku placed there. When she looked at it she saw the artistry and amazing blade work that had gone into it. She attached the sword with a leather strap onto her hip before turning to the crowd and bowing, adding her own small speech.

"Thank you for allowing me to protect and defend this city, my home, _our_ home."

The crowd cheered loudly before erupting into a spontaneous party just like Fugaku predicted they would. Sakura smiled as she wiped the small tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. Several months ago Sakura wouldn't have dreamed of ever standing here, being granted such a privilege. She went from being a secret to the world as a lowly farmer's daughter to being one of the five strongest warriors in their kingdom with prestige and even the promise of being the future queen. Sasuke rose from his seat and walked beside Sakura to take her hand in his before raising it above Sakura's head as well, erupting another large roar from the crowd.

"This is my way of showing off my future bride" he smirked from beside her, "Are you ready for your banquet?"

Sakura sheepishly smiled before confessing, "Not really, no. I need to get out of this stuff. It's dreadfully uncomfortable."

"Would you like me to help you with that?" Sasuke asked mischievously while looking for Sakura's reaction out of his peripheral vision.

Sakura blushed and went wide eyed without answering for a minute before asking, "Are you even healthy enough to be here? Let alone do _those_ things?"

After turning their backs to the crowd and walking back towards the palace Sasuke told her, "I can honestly say I'm not 100% yet, but I am much better. Tsunade even told me I could sleep in my own room tonight instead of the infirmary."

"That's good" Sakura said skeptically eyeing him.

"I wish I could be better, but that will come with time, hopefully before our wedding."

"One week?!" Sakura shrieked to herself while grabbing her face, remembering Fugaku's words, "How is that even possible?"

"Because mother's been planning the whole thing herself. It's kept her busy. Besides, aren't you happy? Pretty soon we won't even have to be sneaky about our _meetings_."

Sakura rolled her eyes before groaning, "I like how you say secret like nobody actually knows already."

Sasuke just smirked to himself as he quietly walked Sakura the rest of the way back to her room. When they got there, Sasuke took it as a sign of providence that no servants were in her doorway waiting for her, which meant her room was mostly likely just as empty. He followed Sakura inside right behind her before closing the door and locking it. Sakura quirked her brow at his actions before he lunged forward like a predator to it's prey and latched his mouth onto her lips. Sakura was astonished how fast he was able to undo the leather buckles on her armor without even looking at it as he carelessly slid each piece off onto the floor. After making short work of the plate armor he tugged off her leather pants, leaving her in just the white under shirt. Sakura reached up to rid Sasuke of his own tabard and shirt before there was a knock on the door.

" _Damnit_ " Sasuke hissed under his breath as he slid off of the pinkette he'd tossed onto the bed, "Who is it?"

"My my… a locked door?" came Itachi's harassing voice on the other side.

"What do you want, brother?"

"Well sorry to disturb you, but father's wondering when Sakura will make an appearance. She can't stay with you in bed the whole night. She _is_ the guest of honor."

Sasuke trudged over to the door and opened it with more aggression than necessary, careful to keep Sakura out of the view of the doorway from Itachi as he glared at his brother, "You came here on purpose. Go find a hand maid or kitchen wench to warm your bed instead of trying to make mine cold."

"Well, I was right." Itachi smirked as he carefully tried to look over Sasuke's bare shoulder for the sight of the pinkette, only seeing part of her leg and a foot without the rest of her.

Sasuke quickly cracked the door further as he sensed Itachi's prying eyes before asking, "Is there anything _else_ you needed to tell me?"

"Try not to make an heir before your wedding day" Itachi got in one final jeer before Sasuke slammed the door in his face and re locked it.

"What was _that_ about?!" Sakura asked rather panicked, "And did you _have_ to open the door?!"

Sasuke silenced her worries with his lips once more before slowly climbing over her onto the bed, "You have no idea how much I've missed this" he whispered with his hot breath against her ear before tangling his fingers in her hair and burying his face in her neck, leaving a trail of soft kisses with small bites.

"Careful" she told him, "I can't show up to the banquet with hickies. It's bad enough your brother already knows what we're doing up here."

"Everyone who would want to know already knows what's happened between you and I. I don't see the point in hiding it anymore."

"Because of propriety! My integrity is being questioned by every lady in the castle! If word gets out far enough that I'm not a virgin, even if it's by _your_ doing, then I won't be fit to wed you. You do realize that, don't you?"

Sasuke took his face away from Sakura's neck before looking her in the eyes, "My father's already accepted you, already knowing we've been intimate. If he isn't phased by it then I don't think pointless political gossip would bother him. Our marriage is as good as done."

Sakura gave in to the fiery kisses that Sasuke was placing down her clavicle before running his hands under her shirt to grasp one of her mounds. Sakura instinctively wrapped her legs around Sasuke's waist as she arched her back into his touch before surrendering to his passion that had been locked up for so long.

"I can tell you've missed this too" Sasuke smirked while looming over the pinkette.

Her face was already flushed and her breathing had picked up in pace along with her muscles that were tensing as Sasuke ghosted his hands over them. Messing with her body and feeling it's reaction brought out an animal instinct in him that made his desire for her burn even more. After quickly sliding the shirt off of her and tossing it to the side, Sasuke rolled onto his back and pulled Sakura on top of him to straddle his hips. She yelped slightly at the shift in weight and position, but quickly adapted as she leaned back down and melted her body against his as she continued to kiss him fervently. Sakura realized that she was completely naked again while he still had clothing on. He was always last to be undressed and sometimes she couldn't stand how she got so caught up in the moment that she let him get away with doing that.

"Do you always have to undress me first?" She asked teasingly in between kisses.

Sasuke broke away and answered, "I can't help myself."

Sakura just quietly smirked to herself as she undid the ties on his leather pants before tugging them off and tossing them to the floor. After both of them were naked and writhing against each other as their hands wandered Sasuke flipped Sakura onto her hands and knees before reaching around her waist over her hip and sliding his hand between her legs making her squirm and mewl quietly at the pleasure he was giving her.

Sasuke was only able to resist for another ten or fifteen seconds before he couldn't take it anymore. He could feel the humidity between her legs that her body was creating because of her escalating arousal. After feeling her seeping entrance Sasuke aligned himself with her and immediately thrusted himself inside of her down to the hilt. Sakura cringed a bit at the familiar discomfort before relaxing into the physical and emotional intimacy of Sasuke rocking his hips against hers. His hand was still massaging her most sensitive hub of nerves which was making her legs involuntarily twitch and occasionally making her slightly fall onto the bed more that she already was. After a few more minutes and picking up the pace Sasuke could feel the signs of Sakura's body about to give out and without fail she had to press her face into a nearby pillow in order to muffle the sounds of her ecstasy as her body seized up in a spasm of pleasure before she felt herself melt into the bed. Sasuke sighed slightly, trying to keep Sakura from hearing it as he pulled out of her before laying next to her.

"But.." Sakura panted, "You didn't get to…"

"It's ok" he told her as he brushed a few stray hairs from her face and tucked them behind her ear, "There'll be plenty of time later."

"No" she told him firmly while slightly scowling, "It's not fair to you."

"Really-" he tried to reassure her but she cut him off.

"Use me until your satisfied." She said matter of factly.

Sasuke had to look away as he felt himself slightly blushing as his arousal now refused to go away because of what she'd just told him.

"You don't mean that-"

"I do" she cut him off, "I'm yours. Use me in any way you want until you're satisfied."

Sasuke wiped a hand over his face before he gave into the nagging lust in the back of his mind and laid Sakura onto her back before quickly positioning himself between her legs and sliding into her. He was trying to be gentle since he'd already seemed to have physically exhausted her however she leaned up and bit down on his ear lobe and whispered, " _harder_ " into his ear, which drove him mad. He slowly started losing his self-control as he rammed into her like a wild animal. Eventually he felt himself climbing a pent-up sexually frustrated ladder of his own before he exploded inside of her with an intense grunt and a small stream of expletives before collapsing on top of her.

Sakura smiled triumphantly as she stroked his dark hair as he laid on her chest, both of them exhausted. Sakura could still feel his limp extension resting inside of her as their mixed fluids poured out beneath them onto the bed.

"We should probably take care of this mess" Sakura chuckled.

Sasuke sat up and looked around at the disheveled room with slightly displaced furniture, a few things knocked onto the floor in their state of being blissfully unaware of their surroundings. The sheets were also throughly ruined and their clothes were strewn about the room.

"I'll help you put your armor back on" Sasuke told Sakura as she slowly sat up and then stood from the bed.

"You get dressed too" Sakura told Sasuke as she looked away from him, "I don't want you helping me put my armor on… looking like that."

Sasuke smirked and had to hold a laugh in the back of his throat as he picked up Sakura's piece of plate armor and set them on a nearby table before handing her her pants and shirt to wear underneath it, soon grasping his own clothes from up off the floor.

* * *

"May I present, the crown prince and general princess!" A door attendant bellowed out into the banquet hall as she and Sasuke descended the stairs.

They had rushed Sakura back to her room in order to get dressed in more formal attire for the ball. Ino had insisted that she wear a dress. War meetings and inaugurations were acceptable to wear armor since it was befitting of her new title, but a ball implied dancing. Ino's opinion was a woman was only to dance in a dress. Sakura had groaned trying to suck her chest and stomach in as Ino tightened to corset for the dress. It was dreadfully uncomfortable.

"What was the hold up?" Itachi asked snidely as Sasuke approached the table with Sakura.

Mikoto raised a brow at Sasuke and Fugaku didn't bother to look at either of them as Sasuke answered, "The plate armor proved more challenging to take off than Sakura initially thought."

Itachi spat into his drink a little realizing that Sasuke wasn't really denying what happened, and even mocking Itachi with a blatant statement that could easily be misconstrued, which was most likely Sasuke's intention. Sakura blushed as she realized the verbal satire herself and sat next to her fiancé in silence with a skeptical facial expression.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again" were Fugaku's only scolding words for them as he continued to look out over all the banquet patrons fraternizing and dancing with one another.

"Why don't the two of you go out there and dance?" Mikoto asked with a smile trying to change the subject and loosen the tension.

Sakura sheepishly returned her smile as she answered, "With all do respect your highness, Sasuke and I are still feeling a bit under the weather from our illnesses and injuries, so I'd prefer to just rest tonight."

"Or you just spent all your energy already" Itachi mumbled under his breath with a shit eating grin.

Mikoto slammed her heel into Itachi's toes causing him to jerk his leg in pain and bang his knee on the table, further injuring himself. Sasuke had to cover his mouth to keep his cackling from being audible to Itachi.

"All of you I swear" Fugaku groaned at the semantics of his two sons and wife.

"I do think dancing is a good idea though" Sasuke said as he stood from his chair and faced Sakura with an extended hand.

Sakura knew that she wasn't supposed to refuse him in front of everyone so she stood even though her legs still felt like jell-o from earlier. She asked, "Why do you want to dance so much?"

"Do I need a reason?" he asked with a snide smirk.

"No" Sakura huffed, "But you always have one."

Sasuke smirked at her analyzing skills of his character before he answered with a jerk of his head. Sakura looked over his shoulder to see a fuming red head glaring at the two of them. Sasuke was actually going to dance right in front of her with Sakura just to show her how irrelevant she was. Sakura had to keep from looking Karin in the eye before laughing to keep the woman from wanting to further harm her.

"You noticed" Sasuke gave a knowing grin.

Sakura simply nodded as she played along and pushed her self closer against Sasuke's body urging him to grip her tighter and have their faces hover closer together. Sasuke had to stifle his own laughter just like Sakura once he realized she was playing even further into their private joke to irritate Karin.

"They're so gross" Itachi sighed at his younger brother who was dancing rather close to his future bride.

The only reason no one said anything is because they were officially engaged and therefore a little escalated romancing wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as what they were doing could be viewed by public eyes. If they were simply entertaining the idea of courtship, or just beginning to know one another then surely someone would've either said something as soon as the dance was over, or even intervened and pulled one of them away.

"I think they look lovely" Mikoto cooed as she sipped from her glass of wine, "I always wanted a daughter, and no I'll have one."

Fugaku looked at his wife from the corner of his eyes before returning his attention to all the different couples that were present. The ball served as both a celebration for Sakura's inauguration as a general, one of the city-state's highest positions, and also for her engagement to the crown prince. The kingdom would soon expect the two of them to be wed and producing little future princes before Fugaku had breathed his last. Itachi snickered at the thought of that happening sooner than everyone thought. With the way he knew how often his brother was wooing the princess behind closed doors it was only a matter of time before something happened.

"Why doing you find someone to dance with?" Mikoto suggested with a smile as she noticed several other lovely ladies around the room lacking a dance partner.

Itachi gave his mother a look of pleading as he asked, "Are you not satisfied with one daughter in law?"

Mikoto shook her head then said, "Of course not! Because I don't have grandchildren yet."

"Yet" Itachi reverberated.

Mikoto scowled at him before nudging his chair, "Go dance before I go find someone _for_ you."

Itachi grimaced as he stood from his seat, but he had no intention of dancing. Fugaku stood from his seat as well as he gestured for his wife to rise with him, as soon as both of them were on their feet, the room took noticed and it seemed like the room became quiet in an instant as Fugaku raised a glass off of his table and held it up, "To the only other woman to earn my respect other than my wife, and to my son who now has a flower of steel to stand beside him!"

The room erupted into cheers as people began jumping about to the music again and those who were drinking began to drink even more feeling the festivity in the air. Fugaku felt a little relieved at the thought that the inauguration and engagement were both held together, which would save the crown a little bit of expenditure not having to hold two separate parties, but it was also stressful because there were several diplomats in town only for this occasion and would be gone soon. He knew that some of them were still undecided on the war movement and weren't sure if they wanted to swear allegiance and provide supplies as well as men to the cause. If he didn't win them over then they either were going to be an independent province, or he would have to take them over by force which would make him very unpopular with the locals of the area.

* * *

As the feast came to a close, Sakura could feel the bottoms of her feet screaming from all the standing. After a few dances with Sasuke, Fugaku had insisted that the two of them meet all the different ambassadors and diplomats from the surrounding areas. Sasuke was already familiar with many of them of course, but to Sakura it was completely new and she had no idea how to handle all of the information. When people were finally starting to file out at what she could only assume were the beginning hours of the morning just before the sun would rise, she was able to escape back to her room and try to rest. Being mentally and physically drained she didn't even notice when the prince had slipped inside of her room and crawled in beside her. He wasn't able to sleep though. He was both too excited and anxious about the upcoming war meeting that afternoon. His brain was restless and instead he spent his time watching the sunrise as well as the way the light bounced off the contours of his princess's face.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

"I swear, if someone else is as well connected as me your fornication would be the talk of the entire city." Itachi grumbled inaudibly to Sasuke so that only the two of them could hear it.

Sasuke just squinted his eyes as he answered, "Actually last night we did nothing. Sakura was already asleep, I simply didn't want to be by myself since I couldn't sleep anyway."

"And this morning?" Itachi asked with a sauciness to his voice that implied he already had a good idea of what happened.

Sasuke refused to answer his brother as he looked away trying to his both the red shades of anger and embarrassment on his face. Itachi just donned a shit eating grin as the two of them stood to welcome in the King and the newest general in procession behind him. The other generals were already gathered around a long table, with one chair open that Sakura assumed was hers. It was the closest to the door and the farthest one away from Sasuke, Itachi, and the King. The three of them sat up on large thrones with Fugaku in the middle up a small flight of steps so that they were elevated above everyone else in the room. Sakura took a deep breath before nearly choking on her own spit. Sasuke could sense her nervousness as she looked around the room clueless as to what to do.

"This is always the best part" one man grumbled to the other with a slight chuckle as they watched Sakura squirm.

"I think we've enjoyed watching her torture herself" Gaara cut in with a slight smirk of his own as he turned to face Sakura, "Just take a seat. The old men think they're funny by making you question yourself and stand there like an idiot waiting on them."

Sakura just blushed as she sat in the seat beside Gaara and then one man rose from the chair that was closest to Fugaku. She had recognized him from being in the palace several times, but she didn't know he was a general.

"Hatake" Fugaku nodded at the grey haired man who appeared to still be fairly muscular.

Kakashi nodded as he began, "We have the sworn allegiance of every village and province within a 100 mile radius of the trade city, as to be expected due to their close proximity. Those outside that 100 mile area are proving to be a bit more difficult to negotiate with. They don't seem to understand the reality of the situation. However provisions and recruitment is exceeding expectations, but…"

"But?" Fugaku scowled. He never liked hearing that word at the end of a good report. It was like someone trying to lessen the blow of an unknown. Fugaku hated not knowing things.

"I tried to send my personal men out to do reconnaissance on the region we had previously discussed and… none of them have returned. There's not a single carrier pigeon or hawk, not a note, not a courier, nothing. It's like they vanished, which means they are probably dead. I send one more individual by himself as well and he seems to have met the same fate I'm afraid. I can't send more men to their deaths to fight against an unknown."

"What do we know about this unknown?" Fugaku asked scowling.

Sakura suddenly felt the weight of all this information falling on her shoulders. She had never been burdened with this kind of knowledge before. Only months ago she was only worrying about the crops not being watered enough, or being watered too much and getting moldy. Now here she was sitting at a table with the trade-city's most powerful men, herself included, discussing imminent threats of classified nature. She had never heard the news of this entity they were talking about. She had assumed these conquests and allegiances were being formed for the city-state to transform into an empire.

"All we know is that they march towards the city. They seemed to have stopped about three hundred miles from the city, but none of my men can get close to figure out exactly who leads this force or what country it's marching from. According to my men who didn't get too close and observed from a mountain top tens of miles away, they said that the forces appeared to be growing in size. They calculated that it will reach it's full force within 3 to 4 months before they try to lay siege to the city."

Fugaku breathed a small sigh of relief. This threat was close, and was coming soon, but not so soon that he couldn't prepare and make arrangements for his men to meet the threat as far from civilians as possible. The people of the city were his first priority. He seemed like a callous ruler to most, but he was hailed as a just king who didn't over indulge or engage in whimsical behavior. Every policy was thought about for months, every move calculated, every decree meant to help the people. The sudden announcement of the coming war had many people confused and even terrified. They knew their king wouldn't call for a wartime era if there was not probable cause for it.

"Does anyone have any suggestions for reconnaissance?" Asuma, one of the other generals asked with a stoic face.

Kakashi and Asuma looked down the table strait at Sakura as she fumbled over her words. What she said next she felt was either an act of braver or a stupid mistake.

"Send me" Sakura pleaded as she stood.

"Absolutely n-" Sasuke stood in order to immediately reject his fiancé's decision.

Fugaku interrupted his son by holding a hand out in front of him before turning his gaze back to the pinkette, "And what would you accomplish?"

"Enemy forces are killing _men_. They aren't looking for women like me. They'll just think I'm a traveler, an orphan, or some other whimsical harmless creature. I'll be able to get inside the city without suspicion."

"Then what?" Itachi asked almost as equally upset as Sasuke about her volunteering recklessly.

Sakura bit her lower lip as she said, "I'll get information. I'll snoop around, and if something goes wrong you can have men stationed in the safe zone Kakashi mentioned a few miles away on a hillside. I'll shoot a flaming arrow high into the air and that will be my distress signal. Otherwise they can wait until they see me leave the town then regroup with me far enough away from the city gates."

Itachi gave his brother a sideways glance in silence as they both questioned their father's sanity for seriously considering this idea. They could easily try and recruit another woman to do the job as well. Someone who wasn't a high ranking officer and future queen of a kingdom.

"We'll pass a motion" Fugaku stated as he leaned back in his chair, "Those in favor, raise your hand."

Sakura was surprised that Kakashi, Asuma, Gaara, Yamato, and Fugaku all raised their hands.

"Those not in favor raise your hands" Fugaku grunted already knowing the outcome.

Sasuke and Itachi raised their hands in defiance anyway. Both boys had the same reasoning; it was simply too dangerous to send the crown princess in there alone by herself. It wasn't a matter of her fighting skills, but if this threat didn't discriminate based on gender then she was just as much as risk as the other men Kakashi sent in.

"The motion's passed" Fugaku bellowed as he turned his full gaze on Sakura, "You leave at sunrise tomorrow."

* * *

"Damnit!" Sasuke shouted as he punched Sakura's stone walls, "What were you _thinking_?!"

"I wasn't…" she sighed under her breath as she packed a small leather backpack and tried to find her old farm clothes that had survived the fire.

After putting on the partially charred cloth and wearing her hair down in a plain fashion she asked, "How do I look?"

"Like a common spy" Sasuke wrinkled his nose at her, "You realize that most of the kingdom knows you have naturally pink hair. Do you think rumor hasn't spread outside the city gates? They'll spot you from miles away."

Sakura put her finger on her chin before her door crashed open with Ino coming inside her room in a tizzy, "Why on earth did you decide to go on a suicide mission?!" and before Sakura could respond Ino added, "Without me."

Sakura instantly shut her mouth as her eyes went wide, "How do you plan on helping? You can't fight!"

"And you can't spy" Ino added, "At least, you aren't good at concealing your identity."

Sasuke crossed his arms and leaned against the wall as he observed the two girls talking. Ino had a point, Sakura was no where near suave enough to simply insert herself in an entirely new setting unnoticed as if she just another ordinary person. Sakura in of herself with her personality was extraordinary. Sasuke watched as Ino taught her different techniques such as speaking differently, walking differently, purposely thinking of your mannerisms and gestures so as not to appear overly feminine and refined. The last bit Ino brought in some herbs that were wet and ground into a paste before slapping them in Sakura's hair.

"What is this? It stinks?" Sakura asked as she wrinkled her nose.

Ino gagged slightly on the smell as well as she said, "It'l only herbs, but it's a mix of herbs that expose your hair to pigmentation and some of the herbs stain brown. So when this washes out your hair will be brown, not Pink. Nothing we can really do about your green eyes, but they're less striking than your hair right now."

After Ino helped Sakura wash her hair of the smelly concoction Ino explained, "This dye doesn't last too terribly long. I'd give it two weeks max before your pink starts showing again. The good news is, when you return home, your hair won't be ruined and you can wear it like normal again, the bad news is that you might only have about a week in that town to gather information before the dye starts fading. I suggest you work fast."

"Aren't you coming with me?" Sakura asked.

Ino nodded, "of course, but the problem is if I carry this paste and someone decides to rob us, or someone sees us with it in the city they'll know that we're high born. These herbs are expensive and only 1st class citizens can usually afford them, so it's better not to risk it."

Sakura nodded as she packed a few more things in bag, "Can I bring this?" she asked as she held up her bow.

Ino bit her lip and twinged her mouth as she thought before answering, "Yes, but don't take that one. Take a more beat up bow. Didn't Sasuke have that one with the blade custom made for you? The craftsmanship is going to not only attract bandits, but unwanted attention."

Sakura sighed in defeat. At least Ino agreed to let her take a bow at all. Sakura wouldn't have felt safe without some kind of weapon by her side. Ino said the bow was fine since women were allowed to fire one, and technically if Sakura was going to have the appearance of a straggler it could work fine since she could say that she uses it to hunt her own food.

* * *

"I hope you know what you're doing" Sasuke told Sakura has he stood in the palace foyer facing a party of five of Kakashi's expertly trained men and two completely clueless girls.

"I'll be fine" Sakura assured him with whatever form of a smile she could muster up.

Sasuke didn't even have words for her to convey his worry, nor did he want to in front of one of the generals who would surely jeer him over it at a later time. The prince's only reaction was to bump Sakura's forehead with two of his fingers before turning on his heel and walking away from her. Her could visibly feel Sakura's scowl piercing into the back of his head. Despite his aloof behavior he just displayed, Sasuke quickly walked to the next floor balcony so that he could watch Sakura ride away on a horse with Ino and the rest of the reconnaissance party. Sakura didn't have to turn around to know Sasuke was watching her. In fact, she felt like he was always watching her to the point where she'd grown accustomed to it, but this time was different. She felt his gaze fixed so acutely on her that it almost made her feel guilty for this whole situation that she had created for herself.

* * *

"This is as far as we go" one of the men said to Sakura as he pulled the reins of his horse to a halt, "If we get any closer we risk being spotted."

Sakura turned her horse around to face him as she asked, "You're going to the rendezvous point then?"

The man nodded before the others followed him towards the mountainside. Sakura turned to Ino as the reality of the situation sank in, they were on their own. Kakashi's men would watch from a distance, but they obviously were disinclined to get involved or interveine due to what had happened to their predecessors who tried to survey this area before them. Ino seemed more self assured than Sakura was. Unsurprisingly Ino led the way in front of Sakura towards the town. The girls headed towards the first Inn to wash the travel off of their skin. They had spent two nights out in the wilderness with the other men camping in order to get this far and the dirt on their clothes and faces showed that.

"Can aye 'elp yew ladies?" A woman with a rather uneducated accent asked them as they approached the counter.

Ino nodded as she asked, "Can we have one room for 3 nights?"

The lady looked at them skeptically as she asked, "You got the money to pay for that?"

Ino nodded as she laid a small handful of silver coins on the counter. She scowled as she saw the woman bite them and look at her as if trying to haggle.

"'fraid its going to cost you more than this" the woman crossed her arms and looked a little aggressively towards the blond.

Ino scowled and gave the woman a hearty glare as she said, "I've been in nicer places for less money. Take it or I'll find another Inn."

At this threat the woman quickly scrounged the coins off of her desk and pocketed them before Ino could swipe them back. She shuffled through a drawer and handed them a key to their room, "three nights" she repeated as she placed them in Ino's outstretched hand.

Ino and Sakura jogged up the stairs as they set their belongings down in their room and began to unpack their clothes into the drawers out of their bags, and Sakura set her bow down next to her bed. It would make her feel more at ease if she could sleep at night with her weapon nearby. Unfortunately Sakura had a little trouble handling the bow because it was an old training bow that Naruto had scrounged out of the armory for her to use. It wasn't her artisan crafted bow that Sasuke had gotten custom made for her. Needless to say, she could tell the difference.

"We going out tonight?" Ino asked as she rapidly undressed and walked towards the bathroom of their bedroom.

"I'm not sure" Sakura huffed, "I'm awfully tired."

"We only have one week until that dye in your hair fades noticeably."

Sakura sighed before shrugging, "Where would we even go?"

"Where all men go to drink and spill their secrets, a tavern."

"I guess, but I'd rather rest the first night" Sakura still growled under her breath.

After a few minutes the realization donned on Ino that there were no servants who were going to come fill the tub in the bathroom with water, nor make the fire for her. She groaned before slamming her head on the counter as she stood there fully naked.

"I forgot our rent here doesn't come with servants" Ino audibly hissed at the inconvenient prospect of having to redress herself to appear presentable and then lugging a bucket back to their room several times.

"I'll go do it" Sakura said as she stood from the bed, "The water pump should be just outside the front door of this Inn. Just sit tight for a few minutes."

After lugging the said bucket up the stairs about six or seven times to draw a bath for Ino, Sakura also lit the fire beneath it in order to heat the water. Ino appeared to have no commoner knowledge of anything the required getting remotely dirty. It almost made Sakura laugh. Almost.

"Didn't you learn any of these types of things before?" Sakura chided her blond friend, "It's basic survival."

Ino shrugged as she said, "I was born into the money with the expectation of staying in money. I could afford not to learn these things. I never imagined I'd be out here in a situation like this."

"Well" Sakura sighed as she dusted the ashes of the fireplace from her hands, "Don't let on to other people that you don't know those kinds of things. They'll sniff out a blue blood like you instantly and you'll blow my own cover."

Ino just scowled, "I _am_ useful y'know."

"I know" Sakura smiled, "It's just now we're on my turf instead of yours, the palace, so your usefulness is more limited."

"Hey!" Ino took offense to Sakura's honest comment as she stepped into the water that was now beginning to heat up.

The pinkette just shook her head still smiling as she left the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Unlike Ino, she knew how to clean herself without a full bath of water. Sakura set to work at the water basin that she'd poured some of the bucket's water into and took a clean rag off of the table next to it and after discarding her clothes quickly wiped herself down with the clean water, watching the water basin's water color go closer to brown with each dip of the rag into the water after scrubbing her body. once Sakura felt she was relatively clean she put on a fresh simple lenin dress and collapsed on her bed. It was going to feel like an eternity being apart from Sasuke.

* * *

"Consider this a night on the town!" Ino tried to cheer her friend Sakura up, "We could never get away with this kind of thing in the palace!"

Sakura just rolled her eyes, "I never bothered trying. I didn't want to."

"Well not all of us can have entertainment sneak into our bedrooms every night."

"It's not _every_ night!" Sakura hissed.

Ino had to stifle a laugh as she smugly looked at her friend, "Could've fooled me."

Sakura slapped Ino's arm scowling as the two approached a tavern that appeared to be having good business and full of rowdy men that were seemingly intoxicated.

"What could possibly go wrong?" Sakura asked rhetorically as she reached for the wooden door.

After pulling it open Sakura realized the chaos they were truly walking into. A bunch of men she assumed were soldiers were in their tabards without most of their heavy armor, being sat on by women Sakura would describe as nothing short of scandalously clad. The two girls wove their way around broken glass and ceramics on the floor in order to make their way up to the bar.

"Whatchu ladies want?" A old man asked as he dried some of the dishes to replace them in cubby holes behind the counter.

"Two ales" Ino said casually to Sakura's disgust.

Sakura knew it wasn't going to be anything like the ale back at the castle, in fact after sipping on the liquid both she and Ino cringed and had to hide the expressions on their faces to keep others from noticing they didn't particularly like the brew. After giving the whole place a once over Sakura and Ino decided to try and make themselves seem happy and approachable. Sakura suggested they casually sit down at a table with two men sitting at it but the blond shook her head. She said that it was better for them to sit by themselves and look approachable than to go and approach them. It was less suspicious. Eventually someone took the bait and pulled out a chair at their table and plopped down.

"Howdy" Sakura smiled at the man.

"Good evening" Ino said trying to look just as pleasant.

Sakura lightly kicked her friends leg under the table to hint that Ino was doing something wrong. The blond just kept smiling but took the hint. Sakura had kicked her because Sakura knew that common people didn't say fancy phrases like "Good evening." They usually ended up saying casual greetings that weren't time specific like "heya," "howdy," or "hi." At the most someone of the stature they were impersonating would say "evenin'" and leave the word "good" out. Sakura knew if Ino kept up how she was talking it would give them away. It was easier for Sakura to revert to her colloquial tongue that she'd grown up with until she moved to the castle.

"What brings you lovely ladies here" The man gave them a rather flirtatious smirk.

Sakura wiped some of the beer from around her mouth on the sleeve of her dress before answering, "Business."

"What kind of business?" The man inquired with a raised brow at Sakura's ambiguity.

"The vegetable kind" she smiled.

"You sound like you aren't from here. Is that accent... Druvian?" the man asked skeptically.

"You got me!" Sakura chuckled, "My father is from that province. Unfortunately I inherited the poor dialect."

"I see" the man seemed to visible relax, "So what vegetable business do you have here?"

"My father sent me on a trip here to scope out the market and see if there as any profit to be had if we tried to move merchandise here to sell it. I'm scoping out the trade guild here to see how hard it would be to get a merchant's permit, as well as scoping out potential business partners."

"Your father trusts you, a woman, with all that responsibility?" The man tipped back in his chair folding his arms behind his head.

Sakura nodded, "My mother died and my father doesn't like spending money for people to go do what I'm capable of doing myself for free as part of the family business."

"Makes sense" the man shrugged, "Are you here with anyone else?"

Ino made a small waving gesture with her hands making another smile, but trying to avoid her earlier mistake and not say anything. The man nodded then asked, "Anyone else?"

"There are a few of my father's men here as well, but they're hunting and camping in the woods to try and get furs to sell when we get back to cover the expenses of traveling here."

"Very smart" the man remarked.

Ino was overly impressed with how suave Sakura was being in conversation. Her country bumpkin accent as well as having a knowledge about trade and faming made her seem very inconspicuous. It was obvious the man was on high guard when he first sat down with the two girls, but after seeing Sakura's casual behavior homely demeanor he seemed much less tense.

"So what's all the fuss here?" Sakura asked gesturing to the door, "I keep seeing armed soldiers walking around the city."

"Oh" the man chuckled, "That."

"Yea. Are you guys under siege, or got threatened by someone?"

"No" the man casually responded, "We're just preparing for war."

"War?!" Sakura asked shocked and surprised as if she wasn't a general from the opposite faction leading an army of her own.

"Yup. Madara's gunna lead us in building a new empire. Starting with the trade-city of Konoha."

"Oh?" Sakura asked not really being able to think strait anymore.

The name of that man had sent liquid ice through her veins and made her head expand in every direction to where her thoughts weren't coherent anymore. She didn't startle easy anymore after all the brutal training she went through, but the experience of watching her family burn to death before being beating within an inch of her life and stuffed in a box still triggered a post traumatic stress response. Ino didn't miss the very visible jolt Sakura made at the sound of that name. Ino was able to remain a bit more calm but was just as shocked as Sakura and knew that this information would probably be plenty in order to inform the king about the situation.

"Do you know him?" the man asked after also visibly seeing Sakura's reaction.

The pinkette now brunette gave a sheepish smile before saying, "I've heard _of_ him, and his reputation. Excuse my reaction, I just have a small fear of men with that much power, being the merchant farmer woman that I am. It could impact me, y'know."

The man nodded slightly brushing off her reaction from earlier and continuing to drink his beer. He and Sakura spoke more about the crop trade and Sakura told him about the potato farming business as well as how her family was starting to expand into the trade of herbs and corn. It wasn't a total lie since they were in fact doing those things at the time of her family's liquidation. It was almost like she was transporting herself back in time and vicariously living what could've been her future as a disguise.

"I think we're going to turn in for the night" Sakura yawned as she stretched her arms over her head, "I plan to hit the trader's guild first thing in the morning."

The man nodded then looked around and asked, "Are your father's men here to walk you back to where you're staying?"

Sakura looked at Ino who had a weary expression, "No. Like I said they're camping out in the woods for a while."

"Would you like me to escort you two back? This town might have soldiers like myself, but not all of them are what I would call friendly or safe."

Sakura smiled then said "That would be wonderful. We're staying at the inn about seven blocks away from here, near the entrance to the city."

"Of course" the man said as he rose from his seat. Sakura and Ino walked out of the tavern and let the man walk in front of them back to their inn since he clearly knew which one they were referring to. Ino looked uneasy and was giving Sakura a sideways glance ever other minute. Finally after about a twenty minute walk through the city the girls arrived at the front entrance of the inn, and much to Ino's relief the man gestured towards the door then did a small bow with a smile to indicate he'd be taking his leave.

"You ladies rest well" he said as he started walking, most likely towards another bar.

"Aye, thank you. I hope you sleep good as well. Try not to drink too late into the night." Sakura laughed casually with a wave.

The man looked over his shoulder and gave a casual wave back before disappearing into the night. Sakura and Ino stepped inside of the inn to see the crabby attendant washing plates and mugs from that evening's meal at the inn. They both smiled slightly before bounding up the stairs to their room. Much to Sakura's relief it looked like all their stuff was still in tact, and thankfully they didn't have anything conspicuous with them besides her bow and arrows. There were no documents or incriminating evidence to suggest they were spies, even though that's exactly why they were there.

"That was uncomfortable" Ino commented as she stripped out of her dress to wear a night shirt, "Why did you let him walk us back."

"Because" Sakura sighed trying to explain her reasoning, "In the castle women don't usually need to be escorted, there are always guards everywhere on duty to keep the peace and protect everyone inside. Even inside the city you can usually find a guard in five minutes. However where I grew up out in the countryside, we didn't have that luxury. You were either to fend for yourself, or have someone with you. Country back roads weren't inherently dangerous depending on how far from home you were, but it was safer to be escorted. This town isn't like ours. I noticed a largely lacking population of guards, and the man even said the armed soldiers here aren't exactly all benevolent. I would rather take my chances on him since he gave me a good impression than risk getting stopped by one I hadn't spoken to. If we also refused his offer it would've looked very suspicious, and would've made us a target if someone at the tavern knew we were walking back alone. It was much safer to accept his offer."

"At least he didn't invite himself inside" Ino let out a sigh of relief.

Sakura laughed before answering, "They almost never do Ino. Most men understand it's polite to make sure we arrive at the destination safely, but once we're inside the staff of the place will take over ensuring our continued safety. I guess it's hard for you to understand since you haven't had to experience it."

Ino nodded then asked, "What was up with you kicking me by the way?"

"Your way of speaking" Sakura remarked, "You stand out like a sore thumb. You're like a pearl in swine skin."

"Why thank you" Ino batted her eyelashes playfully.

"That isn't a compliment" Sakura smugly smirked at her blond friend, "We need you to be a commoner, not a runaway princess."

"I'm not the princess" Ino smirked looking back at her friend.

"Touche."

The girls agreed on getting to the merchant's guild tomorrow to inspect permits and the like. They'd told the man that's what they were there for. If they didn't appear there then it makes their staying in town even more conspicuous. Besides Sakura said she was there to inspect the possibility of getting a permit, she didn't have to get one, she just had to go look.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

"Hey! Watch it!" Ino shouted after man had stepped on the hem of her dress for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Relax" Sakura tried to soothe her friend, "Don't draw too much attention to us. You should be used to the dirt by now."

Ino just crossed her arms and huffed, "Just because I'm used to it doesn't mean I have to like it."

Sakura just ran a frustrated hand over her face as she drudged i the direction the inn keeper had told them to go to get to the merchant's guild in that city. It wasn't until nearly lunchtime that Sakura was able to locate the brick building. It was nothing like the grandeur of the merchant's guild in Konoha of course, but it was one of the less shabby buildings in town. After she and Ino walked into the guild Sakura was pleasantly surprised to see a tavern like restaurant in the parlor of the building.

"Food!" Ino cheered as her mouth began to water.

Sakura and Ino were headed to a table when suddenly someone stepped in front of them with their arms crossed and a stern expression as they explained, "Dining is for guild members _only_."

Sakura suddenly looked up at him and asked why. The man said that the type of food and classiness of the restaurant demanded a higher level of class than "two street wenches." Sakura was infuriated by his words when a familiar voiced called out from behind them.

"Let them eat Kohai."

Sakura and Ino spun around to see the smiling face of the soldier who had walked them back to their inn last night.

"I thought I would find you two here" he said with a grin.

"Well" Sakura scratched her arm feeling slightly uncomfortable at being stalked, "We did tell you we intended to visit here and get some business in order."

"Right" he said quickly before turning to the stern man who was blocking the girls' path to a table.

"Surely you won't deny _me_ a table for a few… guests?" The man said in a neutral tone but the small tremble in the other man suggested a malice that soon sprang him into motion as he grabbed plates, menus, and silverware.

"So did you come here to meet us or is this just a _coincidence_?" Ino asked with her hands on her hips.

"Ino!" Sakura chided slapping her blond friend's arm, "Don't be so rude!"

The soldier chuckled as he pulled out two chairs at the table for them before answering Ino's inquiries, "I actually happen to be meeting someone that's rather important here. However he doesn't mind the humble if you understand what I mean. Two extra guests wouldn't bother him while we discuss business."

"Thank you for the generous offer" Sakura laughed nervously as she sat down across from the mysterious man.

"Speak of the devil" the man stood up quickly as he turned to face the door.

Sakura's veins turned to shards of glass as she felt a sharp jolt of terror rip through her at the sight of the man who's ruined her entire life.

"Ino" Sakura tried to keep her composure, "I just realized that I left my father's business papers at the inn, do you think you could get them then meet me back here?"

Ino looked at Sakura questioningly before getting a glimpse herself of what Sakura was blankly staring at. Ino jumped up like her chair was on fire and scurried while rambling apologies mixed with assurances that she'd retrieve the records. After managing to slither past Madara, Ino took one last backwards glance over her shoulder that was flooded with concern before she fled out the door.

Sakura knew that her hair at least gave her a small advantage in concealing her identity, but Ino didn't have a hope in hell since she had lived in the palace with Madara for so long that there's no way he wouldn't recognize her.

"Who's your lunch date?" Madara asked with a sneer as he eyed Sakura much to her discomfort.

"This is..." The man paused, "Actually I never did get your name. What is it?"

"Mebuki" Sakura quipped thinking of the only commoner female name that came to mind, her mother's.

"Oh?" Madara mused as he rubbed his hand over his mouth, "You look a lot like a woman I used to know named Mebuki."

"Oh?" Sakura tried to feign ignorance, "It's a rather common name where I come from."

"I see" he said as he picked up a menu and browsed over it with an uninterested expression, "So tell me Yahiko, how are we suppsoed to discuss our military plans with this vegetable girl sitting at our table?"

The red head scratched the back of his head and laughed innocently as he shrugged, "She probably won't know half of what we're saying! She's a vegetable farmer for kami's sake, not a tactician."

Madara gave Sakura one last unnerving scowl before turning his attention back to what Sakura assumed was one of his henchmen, generals, leaders, someone of importance for him to meet one on one with him personally.

"We have a long ways to go before we have our siege equipment modified to withstand any kind of flame attack that might be used to ram a gate."

"Using all metal works wonders" Madara remarked sarcastically.

"We don't have the resources unless you would like to use stone tipped arrows and spears" Yahiko quipped.

"Then cover it in pitch and flame retardant cement I don't care, just make it work" Madara grumbled as he signaled for a waitress to come over and take their order.

Sakura pretended to be captivated by the guild's scenery and furniture and not what the two men were talking about even though it had every ounce of her attention. Even when she knew the waitress had come over Sakura pretended to be oblivious until they got her attention so as to appear uninterested so they would continue their conversation right in front of her.

"Now" Madara said as he had turned his gaze back at Sakura who he clearly didn't want overhearing all of their discussion, "I hate to be rude deary since this handsome fellow here seems to be smitten with you enough to invite you to lunch, but there are things a lady's ear should hear. So if you don't mind, I would like you to eat over there."

Sakura followed where his hand was pointing to a small two person table and made to get out of her seat when Madara stopped her.

"Wait" he grunted, "Let me see your eyes."

 _"Shit"_ Sakura cursed to herself as she turned her face to his.

"I've seen those eyes before. What's your actual name, girl?"

"Mebuki" Sakura tried to sound confused as if Madara had misunderstood the first time she'd said it, however she could tell her cover was slowly being blown thanks to her obnoxiously green seafoam eyes.

"No" he scrunched his nose, "You're her daughter" he grunted as he lunched across the table for her.

Sakura tried not the scream as she dodged him and bolted strait for the door with Madara in hot persuit.

"Damnit!" She hissed under her breath, "I have to let Ino know!"

Sakura was hustling as fast as she could to the Inn only to be grabbed into a side alley suddenly. When she saw the orange locks of the man that she was just eating with her mind spun and she instantly tried to fend him off until he kept telling her he was on her side. When he took his hand off of her mouth he explained everything to her.

"I'm here of my own accord. I have no allegiance to any nation but my own conscience I cannot in good conscience let this monster march over innocent people. Please believe me when I saw I want to help you. I noticed your friend's hasty departure and my friend Konan should already be with her helping her get out of the city."

Sakura stared at him silently in disbelief that there could be someone who was an insurgent so far high up the command chain, "Why should I believe you?"

Right after she asked the question Yahiko had pushed her farther back into the alley as multiple soldiers rushed past in order to avoid her being spotted, "At this point I don't think you have a choice" he grunted.

Sakura just slapped her face as she nodded then informed him that she did have to go back to her Inn to retrieve the bow and arrow in order to get help from the men outside the city. At least saying there were men outside the city wasn't a lie, but she wasn't sure how much help they would actually be.

Yahiko and Sakura climbed around small streets and alleys avoiding the main roads which doubled their time getting to the inn. Thankfully there was a back cellar entrance that they used to sneak inside, much to the kitchen staff's dismay. Once Sakura was inside she ascended the stairs like a bat out of hell in order to retrieve her bow. She decided to leave all other articles of clothing, soaps, oils, and good behind. Upon leaving the room she jumped over the banister falling 10 feet before landing in a crouch and sprinting to the door. Yahiko's breath hitched with worry as he watched her recklessness but lead her towards a side exit of the city when suddenly he knew he had to abandon her.

"I can't go any farther" he confessed, "If Madara sees us together my cover is blown."

Sakura nodded then asked, "should I send a carrier pigeon to make sure you're ok?"

"No" he answered quickly, "The reason I've been able to get as high up as I have is because I correspond with no one. My friends are also in Madara regime, but they're the only ones I'm working with. No communication goes out long distance. It's how we've maintained our cover."

Sakura sighed but understood the importance, "When he comes to our doorstep I'll be counting on your help."

"Of course, but take these. You might find them useful." He handed Sakura a pouch full of folded papers.

Sakura was unaware what was in them as she was too busy running for her life as she replied, "Thank you."

Yahiko nodded before disappearing instantly into a side alley. Much to Sakura's dismay she had no idea where in the city she was, her only hope of escape was probably the worst idea ever. She had to shoot off an arrow inside the city, which would essentially give away her location to every foot soldier in the whole town. Luckily she found barrels of tar outside a closed shop and covered her arrow halfway up with it and kept running on foot trying to get closer to any exit she could find. When she passed a street torch she quickly lit the arrow before climbing onto the roof of a house and firing the arrow off as hard as she could into the air. Much to her relief their was a return response outside the city that she knew were the men from her reconnaissance party. All she needed was Ino, but Yahiko had assured her that her blond friend had made it to safety already.

Sakura's relief was short lived as she felt a stabbing pain sear through her thigh. Someone had shot her with an arrow right through the leg, no doubt because of the flaming arrow giving away her position. After letting a scream boil in the back of her throat without leaving her lips she tumbled off of the rooftop into an alley as far away from the suspected shooter as possible. This was bad, she was limping, she couldn't run, she couldn't get away fast enough. She contemplated not being able to get away at all. She motivated herself to move faster knowing if she didn't she would have to face Madara again, and it wouldn't be from atop of the city's walls with an archery squad like she'd imagined.

"This way!" Sakura heard a hard whisper from the shadows.

Sakura recognized her friend from the shadows and instantly hissed, "Ino!"

"Shhhh!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "I was told you made it out."

"I did" she stated matter-of-factly, "But you didn't. I couldn't leave your sorry ass behind. Sasuke would kill me."

Sakura looked up at her friend with a mixture of admiration and agitation as she realized that Ino's life was now in danger along with her own. She clenched her fists as she thought of the best course of action. She knew that if Ino tried to help her they both risked getting caught.

"Take these" Sakura commanded, "As fast as you can back to Sasuke. Tell him everything you've heard here. These papers could turn the tide in our favor, but they won't make it to Sasuke if we both get caught."

"You don't know that" Ino tried to chastise her friend trying to put her arm over her shoulders.

The girls froze slightly as they heard the sound of soldiers marching across the cobblestone ever closer to their location one shouting, "I thinks he fell this way."

"Go!" Sakura hissed as she shoved the pouch into Ino's hands and flung her friend from her, falling to the ground, "We can't lose this war."

Ino started to feel tears pooling in her eyes as she stuttered, "I don't now what will happen to you."

"I will come home."

"Not if I leave you here!"

"Have I ever lied to you?!"

Ino looked at Sakura in slight disbelief as she recalled Sakura's boasts of becoming a warrior, an archer, a strong woman. Her boasts of winning the tournament, and her achievement as becoming general.

"Go!" Sakura shouted as her throat cracked while her finger pointed over Ino's shoulder to the alley way behind her, " _You_ are the last hope Konoha has right now. Don't let me down."

Ino choked on a sob as she scuttled away right as she heard armor clanking nearby. It wasn't too long until Ino heard Sakura's disgruntled shouts and the banging of armor and weapons until she completely lost it. The blond was able to make it out of the city and returned to the reconnaissance party who stood dumbfounded as they saw not two girls, but one. The looked questioningly at the despondent blond but Ino only shook her head as a silent answer.

"We must make it to Konoha as fast as possible. No stops." Were Ino's words as a soldier helped her into the saddle of her horse.

The blond knew there would be no protest from the men since she was the one who always wanted to make frequent stops, but what Sakura had charged her with took much more precedence than her personal comfort. After snapping the reigns of their horses the party rode furiously. What was originally a 3 day journey took them a little over 24 hours of non stop riding. By the time Ino had reached the city gates the bags under her eyes were as purple as her dress and her disheveled appearance was worse than a street urchin's.

"Perhaps you would like me to draw you a bath m'lday?" One of the servants asked as she saw Ino walked into the palace foyer a complete mess.

"No" Ino growled as she tossed her riding cloak to the side of her stomping towards the meeting hall, "Assemble all the generals and the King with his sons."

The servant looked baffled that Ino would have the gall to assemble the war council but considering her state of being after her travels it was evident that this was of the utmost importance.

* * *

"Well well well" Madara chuckled, "It seems you've gotten yourself into a bit of trouble _Mebuki_."

Sakura was unable to stand and being held up by two men holding her arms. It didn't stop her from spitting at Madara's feet which warranted a heft slap across the face from the malevolent man.

"You want to learn your lesson all over again? I thought beating you into submission the first time was enough to remember for the rest of your life."

Sakura slowly craned her head up to look him directly in the eyes as she seethed, "I'm not afraid of you anymore."

"Oh? Perhaps we should change that."

Sakura let a shit eating smirk spread across her face "If you hurt or kill me it doesn't matter. Sasuke would be devastated, but he will still win this war. You're too late."

"Well it's not my fault he sent his pretty little princess alone on a fool's errand."

"Alone?" Sakura asked as her smirked turned into a grin, "Surely you're mistaken."

Madara suddenly clenched his fist with a look of rage at his misconception before shouting, "Turn every stone in this city! Find the others!"

Sakura let her head hang back down towards the ground with the smirk till on her lips. She knew Ino was probably halfway to Konoha by now. The blond had found her way back inside of the city. There was no doubt in Sakura's mind that she could twice as easily find her way back out.

"Get her out of my sight!" Madara yelled as Sakura felt herself being hauled away in the midst of the chaos she'd created.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

"What do you mean she's not with you?" Sasuke asked with his eyes dangerously narrowed.

Ino looked down at the floor, unable to meet the rage in his eyes as she explained, "Sakura and I got caught. I came back for her but she was unable to walk and begged me to take the information we'd gather and leave the city as fast as possible. She said it was imperative that we get this information."

"You left her" Sasuke seethed, "In the hands of the enemy?"

"In the hands of Madara" Kakashi corrected after folding open the parcel Ino had handed him as she explained the current circumstance.

Something inside of Sasuke shattered as he heard that name and the realization that Sakura was now a prisoner of war. Ino and the other generals watched in surprise as Sasuke punched the table, causing his fist to slide through it like butter. It was solid mahogany and everyone felt a mixture of sorrow for the prince as well as slight anxiety at what his unbridled rage would make him capable of. Itachi wasn't the least bit surprised. He knew the type of connection his brother had formed with Sakura, and unlike his sociopathic sibling, Sasuke sometimes let his emotions dictate the extent of his power, which could become very dangerous if unchecked.

"Sasuke" Fugaku grunted trying to pull his sun out of the swirling cesspool of angst and fear he was slowly drowning in.

Sasuke looked over to his father with a silent glare still murdering Madara 100 different ways simultaneously in his mind. Fugaku just took a deep breath before telling his son, "You are forbidden to leave the city."

"We can't leave her there!" Sasuke shouted angrily as he failed to understand his father's logic.

"She knew the consequences!" Fugaku yelled back at his son, "If you rush in now while we're still unprepared there is no telling what the casualties on our side will be! If we leave our walls we are sitting ducks! What would you have me do?! Sacrifice twice as many men as I have to in order to save her when she volunteered to go on this mission!"

"She got you information that will win you the war! How could you repay her like this?!" Sasuke's eyes started to burn red in middle of his vast charcoal color from the sheer indignation of everyone.

"He's right" Itachi tried to chime in to quell his brother, "Please understand brother, launching a full assault on that city is suicide for us right now. However, Sakura is a capable woman, and I trust that she had a feeling this would happen. I'm certain she's prepared herself for this scenario and will know how to get out."

"But Madara will…"

"She's too valuable" Itachi cut him off, "Madara is both and idiot and a genius at the same time. She is worth infinitely more now than the first time he took her. He knows that if he kills her he's lost his only bargaining chip should he lose this war. No doubt Sakura's going to get roughed up and she might not be treated like royalty, but she won't die."

Sasuke looked at his brother as the gears in his head started turning while Itachi was trying to explain the situation to him. After Itachi assured him that Sakura's life wasn't in danger that didn't stop Sasuke's insides from boiling at the thought of the abuse she was going to have to endure. Even though her life wasn't hanging in the balance, it didn't mean that Sasuke was going to let her captors torture her while they waited for the war to end. There was no telling the amount of physical and metal scars that would set in if he let that happen.

 _"_ _I can't leave the city"_ Sasuke thought to himself as he smirked and left the general's assembly hall already conjuring a plan to save his warrior queen.

* * *

"What do you prepose we do with her then?" Madara asked with a dissatisfied scowl as he stared at the pinkette who was sporting a shit eating grin.

"Not sure" Yahiko answered with a shrug, "Obviously we can't hurt her unless we kill her, which isn't an option since she's valuable."

"Tch" Madara scoffed as he thew a blade into Sakura's thigh.

Much to Madara's disappointment Sakura just smiled disgustingly as her leg glowed green and the blade was forced out of her leg onto the ground by her feet as the wound closed rapidly. She only gave him the satisfaction of a minor flinch of pain. No noise and noise tears caused Madara to lose his interest in her immediately.

"What if…" Madara smirked wickedly, "We make her unfit to be queen?"

Yahiko instantly panicked inwardly trying to find a way to divert Madara's interest in making Sakura miserable, "If you did that she would lose her value as well."

"You're right, but who would know."

"I would let them know" Sakura scowled, "I would give up my title, my right, my rank, all to watch you fail. Do it and you'll regret it."

"What's to stop you from crying wolf and doing that anyway?" Madara wrinkled his nose from the stench of the holding cell where Sakura was chained to the wall.

"On my honor I won't lie if you return me _untouched_. I don't want to lose my right to marry the love of my life, but if it means keeping you from a successful bargain should you fail and need one after _ruining_ me then so be it."

"I don't remember you being this bold, _potato girl_ " Madara crossed his arms continuing to frown at the girl.

"You broke me" Sakura told him with a glare of her own as it morphed into a smile, "Do you know what happens when something breaks then gets fixed?"

"It's only worth half as much" he smirked sickeningly.

"No" she grinned at him like she did earlier when Madara discovered she could heal her own wounds, "It becomes _stronger_. I no longer live in fear of your shadow. You have yourself to thank for my current state of being. In fact, I should thank you. Because of you I met Sasuke. Because of your cruelty I trained to become the strongest woman in Konoha's history. I didn't realize how much I would live for the day when Madara himself wouldn't know what to do with me."

"I'll figure out what to do to you later, bumpkin." Madara waved his hand as he exited the holding chamber, "Make sure her restraints aren't lose and bar the gate when you leave." he told Yahiko over his shoulder before exiting the prison.

Yahiko let out a huge sigh of relief before scowling at Sakura, "Do you want him to maim you?"

"Not really" Sakura's mouth twitched.

"Then stop showing off whatever the hell that green juju is. Keep doing that and he'll cut a leg off or something, just to see if you can grow it back. Don't doubt that he won't."

"Why are you trying to help me?" Sakura asked with a crestfallen face of confusion.

"I told you before" he said, "I don't like him either. Unfortunately you've put yourself in a position where I have a limited ability to help you. Part of it is my fault for not realizing who you were sooner and keeping you away from Madara, but unfortunately he has you under such a lockdown that if you were to escape he would almost certainly know it was me. All I can offer is trying to distract Madara from you to keep you from suffering too much."

The pinkette nodded in defeat as she let her weight hang limp against the chains in the damp cell. At least there was a small window with bars that allowed some natural sunlight to filter in. Sakura couldn't stand it if there was no light and she would never know what time of day it was or how many days it had been. However she knew if she kept pressing Madara's buttons she wouldn't put it past him to stick her in such a cell and make her more miserable than she already was.

* * *

"You can't be serious" Naruto looked at Sasuke in wide eyed shock, "How could this have happened?"

"I asked myself the same thing. Apparently Madara was dissatisfied with the way things turned out. He isn't going to stop until he's the king of the city."

"Not that" Naruto shook his head, "How could Sakura have gotten captured. She's such a careful and calculated person. Not to mention sometimes I think she's even stronger than you, teme."

"I know" Sasuke wiped a frustrated hand over his face.

Sasuke still hadn't let a single tear escape his face. He was still caught up in a swirling emotional vortex since he heard the news and the only way he knew how to process it was with sheer rage.

"I have a favor to ask" Sasuke turned to Naruto with a serious expression.

Naruto nodded ot indicate that he was listening before Sasuke took a deep breath, "Save her."

"What? How?" Naruto asked in slight disbelief at the monstrous task he was being asked to do.

"I know it's a lot to ask of one person, but the less people we send the high chance you have of going undetected by Madara and his men. Ino told us there was an informant there who tried to help them. He is one of Madara's generals. This man rose to the rank he has because he has no allegiance to any nation and doesn't conduct outside correspondence in order to keep from being caught. He is working with a small task force that is supposedly disguised as being part of Madara's army. I want you to find this man. There's no doubt that he knows where Sakura is being held. He probably is watching over her directly, which is the only reason I believe Sakura hasn't been killed."

"How am I supposed to find this guy if he hides inside of Madara's army, the _exact_ group of people I don't want to run into."

"Ino knows what the man looks like. He also frequents a tavern. Find him. Find _her_. _**Please**_."

Naruto could've sworn his saw Sasuke's eyes become glassy, but instead of embarrassing his friend he took the sincere expression to heart. He looked down at the ground in though, uncertain of the outcome if he were to accept such a dangerous proposal. However he loved both Sasuke and Sakura equally and was just as enraged at Sakura's enslavement. With a nod Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and pulled his friend to him, the other hand was used to slap Sasuke's back. Sasuke reciprocated the gesture as he whispered a thanks in Naruto's ear before the two separated.

* * *

"Chow time" a man grunted as he slid Sakura's food through the dirt on the floor of her stone cell to her feet.

The man let out a sick chuckle as he walked away. The bread was out of reach of Sakrua's hands and he knew it. The pinkette didn't find this the least bit funny as she found herself trying to pick up her food with her foot and bring it to her mouth but the chains on her legs were even shorter than the ones on her arms, causing the bread to fall from her feet without coming remotely close to mouth. The bread tumbled away from her to where even her feet could no longer reach it. She let out a despondent sigh before hanging her head in defeat.

"Where's that fiery passion I saw yesterday?" A familiar voice asked from her cell door.

Sakura looked up with a sad smile as she said, "I think I used it all up. Gotta fill my tank before I have more of it."

"Good thing I brought fuel for the fire then" Yahiko chuckled before entering the cell, "Good news as well" he smiled, "I have permission to unlock your restrains. You'll still be in the cell, but no longer chained to the wall."

"Thank god" Sakura said as she looked to her arms, "That little display I put on yesterday took all my energy, so I couldn't heal myself from these chains and my tendons and bones were starting to feel like they were going to give out."

"Try to save your energy" he told her, "I really would hate for Madara to do something to you and think you could heal yourself, but you don't have the stamina left and you end up…"

"Yeah" she cut him off, "That's entirely possible, but for now he hasn't made a single reappearance at my cell."

"That's for the best" Yahiko told her, "He told me that he wasn't interested in something that wasn't ready to be broken. He thinks if you rot down here for a few more days then you'll break."

"I'm not sure" she confessed. "It's already been a weeks since I've seen the love of my life, and several days since I've seen the light of day. How much longer until I have the strength to get out of here?"

"That day might never come" Yahiko confessed with some melancholy, "My team members and I don't usually correspond with outsiders to keep our positions secret like I mentioned, but there's been no attempt at anyone trying to get into the city for your recapture, and no communication either. I'm not sure what your kingdom is doing."

"It's Fugaku" Sakura sighed, "He knows the weight of war and the consequences of pre-mature conflict. He won't send an army, or soldiers."

"I see" Yahiko sighed as he unlocked Sakura's shackles as she fell to the floor, "So does this mean that we're going to have to resort to drastic measure to get you out of here ourselves?"

Sakura shook her head, "Fugaku is the king, but my prince won't leave me here. I know he'll send someone. He won't send an army and he probably won't come himself, but I haven't lost hope."

Yahiko smiled a bit, "I hope so too."

"Keep an eye out on people coming into the city. There might be an unfamiliar face that is actually my savior."

Yahiko nodded as he set a small pewter plate down on the floor by Sakura, "For the time being this is all I can give you for food. If I indulge you Madara will know something's up, but I managed to avoid suspicion with bread that isn't covered in mud and some potatoes."

"Madara's idea?" Sakura scowled looking at the potatoes.

"He's a sadist. You should expect this by now." Yahiko shrugged.

"Sucks for him" Sakura smirked, "If I get enough food I'll get my chakra back and I'll bust out of this hell hole."

Yahiko smirked back as he said, "I guess I'll just have to tell him the potatoes made you cry."

Sakura chuckled before making fake sobbing noises as she spooned the food into her mouth. Yahiko had to resist the urge to laugh as he walked away from her cell.

* * *

"I can't do this alone" Naruto told Shikamaru what had happened.

Ino had already explained the situation to him as she sat sobbing beside him over her grief and guilt. Shikamaru looked at Ino with a soft expression before turning to Naruto and hardening his gaze, "What do you need from me?"

"Your brain" he told him.

Shikamaru sighed and crossed his arms, "You realize that even with the two of us this is going to be incredibly difficult?"

Ino looked hopefully at Naruto as she tried to tell Shikamaru about everything they had going for them, including an ally in the shadows of Madara's army. Shikamaru weighed the consequences, but he knew Naruto would go even if he didn't, and if Naruto went alone the chance something bad happening to the blond was much higher than if Shikamaru accompanied him. After nodding at Naruto in silent agreement the boy left the room, leaving Shikamaru and Ino alone. He took a minute to contemplate what he had just agreed to before turning to the blond beside him who was still crying unconsolably. He put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her before rising to his feet to leave the room and prepare.

Ino grabbed Shikamaru's arm before he left and looked into his eyes with her bloodshot ones, "Please" she begged him, "Fix my mistakes."

Ino's plea shook Shikamaru to the core as he realized how truly grave the situation was. He nodded to her before placing a soft kiss on her cheek and walking out of the room to go prepare to leave in a few days in order to rescue their princess.

* * *

"Doctor!" a man shouted from inside Sakura's holding cell.

Of course the racket caused Yahiko to come down the stairs to the dungeon and walked in to see the pinkette doubled over vomiting on the floor of her cell.

"Sakura" he called to her, "What's wrong?! Talk to me!"

Sakura looked up at Yahiko with tears in her eyes, "I'm…"

Yahiko couldn't hear her and soon the pinkette passed out from a mixture of exhuastion, mal-nutrition, dehydration, and pain. He turned to the man in the cell who had originally raised such a fuss and yelled at him to find a doctor in the camp outside to come in and examine Sakura. Yahiko tried to carefully place Sakura in a sitting up position against her cell wall as she continued to remain unconscious.

"About damn time" Yahiko growled, "Examine this girl. What's wrong with her?"

The doctor nodded and began taking Sakura's pulse and gauged her temperature with his hand before poking and prodding around the outside of her body when his hand stopped a few inches below her navel. The doctor turned to Yahiko with a deer in the headlights expression.

"Well?" He asked impatiently.

"I beg your pardon sir" the doctor coughed, "But it appears you have two prisoners now."

Yahiko's eyes widened in both shock and a new sense of panic at the severity the situation now entailed. He quickly left Sakura's cell to report to Madara directly since he had placed Yahiko in charge of her incarceration. He knew that reporting this could be a mixed bag, but not reporting it would put him in a worse situation, especially if the doctor knew that Yahiko was withholding the information.

"Excuse me" Yahiko cleared his throat as he stood in the entrance way of Madara's office, "We might have a problem."

"What kind of problem? Don't tell me you let that pink wretch escape?"

"No" Yahiko quickly quelled Madara's anxiety, "But it appears she's… she is with child."

Madara spat out his drink before turning to look a Yahiko with an unreadable expression. Yahiko hoped and prayed this his perception would be that her value was now doubled and that he would treat her better so as not to lose the child as well. He was hoping this would be a positive thing for Sakura as long a she remained here. The maniacal man ran his hand back and forth across his chin before looking at his right hand man.

"I'm going to write a letter. Telling the prince of the circumstances. They can surrender the city or lose both mother and child."

"Think about this" Yahiko dissuaded him, "That is a future king. If you put that kind of bargaining price on it then they will most certainly think that you will kill the hostages anyway once you become king."

"Well of course I would, but I won't tell them that" Madara scoffed.

"You don't have to tell them. They probably already know that you will do that, which is exactly why they won't agree to those terms."

"Then what do you propose I do since your'e so smart?" Madara seethed with sarcasm.

"Inform them of the situation. Tell them that you have her and future king, however don't illicitly tell them what your'e going to do. Let them offer something, haggle with them. Let them think there's a chance of getting her back."

"I like it" Madara smirked evily, "Let them think there's hope, then take it away from them all the same."

Yahiko pretended to smirk along like he was somehow just as bad of a person as Madara while secretly trying to formulate an alternative plan for Sakura's escape.

* * *

"Your majesty!" A messenger cam running down the hall after Sasuke.

The prince turned around to see the messenger out of breath and holding out a folded parcel, "This came for you an hour ago by way of a messenger crow.

"Crow?" Sasuke asked before looking down and recognizing the wax seal on the letter and immediately rushing off to the privacy of his room to read it.

 _Dear Sauke,_

He read as he closed and locked the door behind him then sat in his chair by his desk.

 _By now I'm sure you know that I have your beloved wife to be. Quite a nasty little imp._

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk to himself that Sakura was so formidable as to disgruntle his uncle who was possibly the most disturbed man on the planet.

 _I was planning to hold her indefinitely until I saw fit to bargain with her, but I'm sure you deducted that reasoning as well. However, I was writing to inform you of something you probably didn't know. Your banshee appears to have conceived before leaving your side and walking right into my clutches._

The air around sasuke froze and time stopped as he re-read that sentence and immediately began scowling as placed his hand over his mouth in frustration and continued reading.

 _Don't worry. They are both still very much alive. For now._

 _If you wish to save them both then make me an offer._

 _You have five days._

 _Love your dearest uncle,_

 _Madara Uchiha_

Sasuke couldn't stop himself from vomiting as he fell to the floor in distress. He'd never felt this much anxiety and grief simultaneously in his life. He wasn't sure what madara meant by an offer. However he was going to make on that Madara couldn't refuse.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

Naruto's eyes scanned over the threatening letter that Madara had sent to Sasuke. The blond wouldn't put it past Madara to fake something such as Sakura being pregnant, however Sasuke and Sakura's late night hobbies were practically public knowledge inside the castle. He didn't doubt that it was possible. Naruto now felt the weight on his shoulders get ten times heavier than it had been before.

"This complicates things" Naruto slapped his face.

"How?" Sasuke asked.

"There's no way in hell Madara is going to leave her unguarded now. The price on her head just doubled in value."

Sasuke just pinched the skin between his nose and asked, "Has word of this spread outside of the castle at all?"

"No" Naruto said matter of factly, "Unless you've told anyone else, I'm guessing you and I are the only ones who know."

"Madara might've let it slip to his men and gossip sometimes travels faster than war itself."

Naruto nodded before adding, "I haven't heard anything inside or outside of the castle. Everyone knows that the princess has been taken hostage though."

"That's to be expected" Sasuke sighed, "But this matter truly needs to stay between you and I if we're going to save Sakura's dignity. Not even Ino can know."

Naruto nodded before looking down at the ground. It seemed only a month ago he and Sakura were training for the general tournament. Had she been pregnant then? What if he had worked Sakura too hard and it hurt the baby? There were a million thoughts running through Naruto's mind as well as Sasuke's. However one thought rose above all others, he needed to save Sasuke's life from Madara's clutches.

* * *

"Well well" Madara entered Sakura's holding cell.

Madara requested for his safety when visiting that Sakura be placed back in her restraints. Given her now revealed condition Sakura didn't want to put up a struggle and risk her situation becoming worse. After Yahiko had put her back in her restraints as nicely as he could, Sakura snarled at the malevolent grin Madara was flashing her.

"It seems you've not only endangered your life, but the future little one's as well."

Sakura would've spat on him if he weren't standing ten feet away from her. She felt like he'd done that on purpose considering the last time he decided to stand too close to her she did the same thing.

"If I'd known I wouldn't have let you take me captive" she sneered.

"Oh? _Let me_ take you prisoner? Aren't we cheeky?" Madara asked with sarcasm.

The only response he received was a continuing scowl from the pinkette that seemed to give no signs of ceasing.

"I sent a letter to your dearest husband" Madara said in a mocking tone, "I let him know of the consequences should he not relent the throne."

"I would rather my future husband choose his people over one bride" Sakura hissed, "And he knows I feel that way."

"Well for your sake, I hope he doesn't." Were Madara's last words before he left her prison chamber and Yahiko undid Sakura's restraints.

As soon as the pinkette hit the floor the bile she'd been holding in rose from behind her throat and sprayed onto her cell's stone floor. Yahiko looked at the pinkette with a mixture of concern and pity.

"Are you sure that's normal?" He asked.

"No" She said, "But I'll be damned if I let that bastard see me in anything other than unrivaled confidence."

Yahiko tried to smile a bit to himself before ordering a grunt down the hall to spray the vomit out of Sakura's cell so her floor was relatively clean again. After that Yahiko told Sakura he would go and barter with Madara in order to give her slightly better accommodations given the circumstances now. The pinkette nodded before trying to lay down on the stone floor to sleep and stop her head from spinning.

* * *

"We leave, now" Naruto told Shikamaru from the doorway to the boy's room.

Shikamaru turned around with a smirk and answered, "I've been waiting for you to say that."

Naruto smiled as the two rushed down the stone hallway to their horses. Each of them had packed a bag with one spare change of clothes, essential survival items like dried meat and cheese as well as some bread, and small concealable weapons. If they came into the city with bows and arrows and long swords they would immediately draw attention to themselves.

"Hya!" Naruto yelled at his horse as Shikamaru rode away right behind him.

Ino was standing on the deck of a window that faced the front of the palace. She and Hinata were both watching the men ride away with tears in their eyes. Fearing for their safety as well as Sakura's. It was a less than ideal situation, but Ino had the strength and resolve to encourage Shikamaru with as much of her strength as she could. She knew if the two men felt like more people than just Sakura were depending on them, they would do whatever it took in order to achieve success.

"But why Naruto?" Hinata sobbed after a long silence between the two of them, feeling a small amount of anger towards the prince, "Naruto isn't part of this."

"Yes he is" Ino corrected her as gently as possible, "We all are. Naruto is Sasuke's closest, most reliable friend. I can't imagine Sasuke sending anyone else , and I'm glad Shikamaru is with him."

"Why?" Hinata looked at her friend through confused tears.

Ino smiled the best she could before answering, "Because I know if they work together, they'll bring Sakura home. Shikamaru is the brains and Naruto is the brawns."

"I just hope it's enough" Hinata whispered before both girls lost sight of the boys from the palace gates closing behind them.

* * *

"Please" Yahiko sighed, "She's sleeping on a floor and barely getting any nutrients."

"Good" Madara said, "It hasn't killed her yet and I doubt it will."

"Your'e right" Yahiko said, "but it could kill her child. Mal nutrition will cause her body to reject the child if it can't sustain it."

Madara looked at Yahiko with a scowl, "Do you care for this girl?"

Yahiko tried to back pedal as he said, "I care about your best interest. If you want the fastest way to piss off Konoha into trying to kill us all before we're prepared to siege them, then kill their unborn heir."

Madara mulled it over for a few minutes in silence before he turned his steel cut eyes to Yahiko, "A floor cot and a half portion more of food per meal. That's it."

"Water?" he asked, "At least let her have a water dish instead of getting one ladle a day. That's more important than the food."

"When did you become a midwife?" Madara sneered at him a little annoyed by his persistence.

"I helped my mother deliver my brothers and sisters, as well as took care of her while she was sick and carrying them inside her. Our father worked away from home for months at a time, so usually all she had was me."

"Whatever" Madara sighed, already bored with Yahiko's life story, "Do whatever you see fit to keep her alive, but if I walk into that cell and it looks like a room from a palace so help me I'll beat the shit out of you. We aren't pampering her."

"Of course" Yahiko said, "The wretched girl will get more water, but she'll just have to sit in her own urine more often. Miserable bitch won't know what to do with herself."

"Hm" Madara hummed to himself, "I guess giving her plenty of water to drink won't be the worst idea."

Yahiko sighed with inner relief but held his breath on the outside as he bowed to Madara and left the room. After scuttling to the camp's kitchen hut, Yahiko grabbed some bread as well as vegetables and some rice for Sakura. When the chef gave him a weird expression he just chuckled and said Madara gave him permission, so the chef shrugged and returned to preparing the rest of the food for the soldiers to eat. When he got to Sakura's cell she was slumped over on the floor dry heaving.

"Easy" Yahiko told her as he tried to get her to sit up, "Good news and great news."

Sakura smiled wearily from exhuastion, but happy that Yahiko was being so positive.

"Madara gave me permission to give you a little more food since you're eating for one and a half now, and said you could have a floor cot. I'll be bringing a bucket by later with water from the drinking well for you also. I know most of why your sick so badly is because you're dehydrated. I also grabbed some rice from the kitchen. I really was supposed to only bring you bread and potatoes, but you need vitamins and extra sticky food to put on some weight. You look more frail every day. Also," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small paper packet, "Suck on this bundle of herbs. It's from my teammate Konan. She made it especially for you. Said it should help your extreme nausea which I'm guessing is morning sickness."

Sakura smiled and nodded gratefully as she carefully picked the packet from Yahiko's hands and unwrapped it before sticking it in her mouth and cringing from the taste. It wasn't the best tasting thing in the world, but if it would stop her from puking her brains out then she would do it. Nothing tastes worse than stomach acid.

True to his word, Yahiko returned with a metal pail of water and a wadded up cot that looked like a sad excuse for a giant pillow. Sakura was grateful though, because anything remotely soft was better than the cold stone floor she'd been sleeping on.

"No blankets" Yahiko informed her, "Can't have Madara thinking I care too much. I'm sorry that this is all I can do."

"No, really it's ok. I wouldn't have any of this if it were anyone but you who was in charge of me."

Yahiko tried to smile but inside he was losing hope every day that Sakura would ever see freedom outside these prison stone walls ever again.

* * *

Two days later Naruto and Shikamaru had arrived in town. They were walking beside their horses pretending to have an upbeat conversation about the changing of the seasons. It seemed to work well enough as no body paid them any special attention. They knew they were outsiders to the town, but considering the thriving market, it wasn't rare for outsiders to pass through. After searching they found a stable that would let them sleep in the stalls with their horses.

"Are you sure you don't want to go look tonight?" Shikamaru asked carefully.

It killed Naruto to know that Sakura was so close, but so out of reach for him. He wanted so badly to bring her back to Sasuke, to fix everything, to make everyone happy again. He turned to Shikamaru with a blank expression as he thought about it.

"Let's lay low for a while" Naruto told him, "We'll draw too much attention if we just go up and party without taking a day to rest after traveling for so long."

Shikamaru nodded, and although he also wanted to have this mission over and done with, he didn't mind taking a power nap first to make sure that he had the energy to do everything necessary.

* * *

"Any better?" Yahiko asked as he stepped into Sakura's cell.

The pinkette smiled and nodded, "I still feel really weak, but the water and herbs have helped much more than I thought they would."

"Good" he sighed, "Konan always knows the best remedies. Just don't let anyone else see that you have that medicine. Madara will know you got it from me, and I didn't get permission to give you herbs for your nausea. I'll get in some serious trouble."

"I won't tell" Sakura said as she held her finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, "I'm just glad that this isn't as bad as it could've been."

"I try" Yahiko told her.

"Have you seen anyone yet?" Sakura asked him with hopeful eyes.

Yahiko shook his head before explaining, "There have been travelers enough coming trough the town, but all of them are merchants with merchants' licenses or huntsmen. In the papers I gave Ino I didn't leave my name, but I left my physical description, so whoever comes should be able to identify me, but so far no one has recognized me."

Sakura looked down at the floor of her cell as she felt the energy slowly drain out of her. The clothes she was wearing were in tatters to where it was ripping and falling off of her body. the moisture of the cell's floor had eaten away at parts of her skin, and Yahiko couldn't help but wonder how much time was left for Sakura if these living conditions continued. Yahiko had snuck an extra pail into Sakura's prison cell so that the pinkette could use the bathroom and urinate without doing so on herself or on the cell's floor. He just hoped Madara didn't make a visit to her cell any time soon to notice.

"I'll keep looking" he tried to tell her with a reassuring smile, "But for now I have to go."

"I understand" Sakura told him, trying to hold back tears.

It wasn't that Sakura was sad to see him go, so much as she was sad to endure the dark, moist prison all by herself. After Yahiko had taken his leave, he headed back into town to run a few errands for Madara. He was supposed to run some of Madara's letters about his plans to some of the other captains and admirals in his army. However when he walked towards the inn he noticed two men glaring at him from the stable to the side of the building. They were sitting on a pile of hay and straw and immediately stopped their conversation when he'd walked over to the Inn's door. It struck him as odd but he simply nodded at them before walking inside the building to drop off the letters in their rooms since the captains and admirals were out. On his way out the door, Yahiko couldn't help but take a second glance at the men inside the stable who weren't looking directly at him, but it was obvious that his presence made them uncomfortable.

After stepping into the doorway and leaning on the door frame Yahiko smirked, "Y'know if you're trying to sneak inside the city unnoticed you might want to stay at an inn that doesn't house half of the commanding officers in the army here."

The two men twitched at his words, which was easily interpreted by him as an admonition of guilt before he had to hold in a cackle then boldly ask, "Don't worry, it's not a crime to be in the city, unless you give a reason otherwise. Out of curiosity where are you guys from?"

The two men scowled and looked at each other and Naruto let Shikamaru answer the question for the two of them, "Suna" Shikamaru lied through his teeth.

Yahiko sighed inwardly in defeat and his face visibly lost it's quirkiness as he waved a hand, "Sorry to bother you folks, hope you enjoy passing through."

"Wait" Shikamaru told him after the man had turned on his heel to leave, "Why do you care?"

"No particular reason" he sighed, "I'm just waiting on a certain group of foreigners for my own reasons."

"Isn't that a dangerous thing to say?" Naruto asked crossing his arms, "Seems like you know your way around here which means you're probably part of the military force here, right?"

Yahiko smirked before shaking his head, "I am in the military here, but who's to say what my business is? I could just be excited for some luxury goods from a far off land."

"How far off?" Shikamaru asked with a scowl trying to calculate his intentions.

"About two or three days maybe, nothing _too_ far away" he tried to drop the subtle hint hoping one of the two of them would pick up on it.

"Do these look familiar to you?" Shikamaru took the papers out of his bag.

They were folded so as not to reveal its contents should Yahiko be someone that was either unimportant or too important but not on their side. The paper was unmistakable, and Yahiko recognized the blue marked lines he'd put on the corners of the pages. He turned his body the rest of the way around with a face of astonishment and uncertain relief.

"Where did you get these?" he asked with wide eyes as he reached for the papers.

Shikamaru jerked them out of his reach with a calculating glance, "I'm not going to give them to you until you tell me what they are."

Yahiko should have expected as much from someone as sharp as Shikamaru. He crossed his arms and answered, "They're battle plans and a map for the routes of each battalion and how they will travel to Konoha. It also has the inventory of armaments, infantrymen, cavalry, siege weapons, and every other detail about our army currently. I gave those plans to Sakura on her way out of the town but she got injured and passed them to Ino who I'm guessing found her way back to Konoha. That or what I just told you is going to get me in a lot of trouble."

Shikamaru and Naruto breathed a heavy sigh of relief at their big break. The reason they'd stopped talking is because his armor first struck them as being a military man, which means they didn't want him to hear what they were saying or suspect them of being insurgents, but the rest of the time they were calculating his physical appearance to the one described in the letters. Yahiko let tears fall from the corners of his eyes as he used his hands to cover his face and his embarrassment.

"Whoa" Naruto muttered in confusion, not sure how to react, "It's ok, you don't need to be this happy..."

"I'm not happy" Yahiko tried to pinch the bridge of his nose between his eyes, "I'm relieved, if you had waited a few more weeks I'm not sure she would've been here."

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt a sudden rage that wasn't directed at Yahiko, "What do you mean? How bad is she?"

"I can't even describe it really, other than calling it hell on earth. I'm surprised she hasn't broken yet. That or she pretends that she's not. I've tried to do everything I can for her, but I'm sure you understand why my hands are tied." Yahiko sighed finally getting composure of himself.

Shikamaru took a calculating glance at Naruto then turning his attention back to Yahiko, "What of the child?"

"I was the one who found out first" he admitted, "As far as I know she's still carrying it. I'm in charge of her incarceration so I see her multiple times a day. I'm trying to do everything I can to keep her and the child alive, but Madara isn't making it easy for me."

"I can imagine" Naruto growled looking downward with anger before looking at Yahiko directly and putting a hand on his shoulder, "But we've come to take her home."

Yahiko grabbed Naruto's other forearm firmly as Naruto grasped onto his, "I'll hold you to that" Yahiko smirked before turning to Shikamaru, "I think I have an idea."

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

"Shhh" Yahiko shushed over his shoulder at Naruto and Shikamaru who were right behind him.

"You guys are going to have about less than five minutes after I create some chaos. You're going to have to get Sakura out of the cell and be out of sight by the time that happens. Get as far away from the city as fast as you can. Once Madara realizes that she's going he'll be out for blood to get her back."

Naruto silently nodded even though he knew Yahiko wasn't looking at him. His eyes were carefully trained on a few of the people walking around the camp outside the alleyway where they were standing. I'll do a routine equipment inspection and accidentally knock a torch over and light a barrel of oil on fire that we're supposed to use for our siege catapults. It'll be enough of a mess that people will gather around. Wait until you hear shots for water and see flames about two hundred meters that way. Then run like hell."

"What's going to happen to you?" Naruto asked with slight concern, "As long as you use the key that I told you is hidden in the brick wall then I'll be fine. Madara thinks he's so smart keeping a spare key there, but as long as I still have mine no one can blame me."

"I hope you're right" Shikamaru grimaced.

"We don't have time for sentimental farewells. Get Sakura out of here." Were Yahiko's last words before he quickly walked out from the alleyway and walked towards the equipment in the distance.

Sure enough about five minutes later they saw smoke starting to rise and panicked shouts coming in the distance. The two boys silently bolted from the alleyway and down the stair case of the stone building that was directly next to the alleyway. It didn't take them long to find Sakura's cell. The pinkette was laying on the ground seemingly asleep but the swift sound of footsteps hurriedly descending the stairway caused her to wake up. The blond hair was unfamiliar from the orange she had grown accustomed to.

"Yahiko?" She asked with a certain haziness that made Naruto very concerned.

Shikamaru was frantically running his hands along the wall in the approximate location Yahiko had described to him. He eventually found the lose brick and threw it to the side has to grasped the metal key and quickly opened the lock on the steel gate. After he swung it open Naruto rushed in and swooped down to pick Sakura up. She was frail and fading and Naruto knew that she had to get out of here as soon as possible, and now that they'd broken in he knew it was life or death for all of them.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru hissed pointing to the stairwell, "They've come inside, there's no way out!"

Naruto looked up at the tiny barred window above Sakura's holding cell, "Not yet" he said, "I'll make us an exit."

He banged on the bricks at the foundation of the window and found that the mortar was loose from water and erosion. He rushed over to pick up the brick Shikamaru had tossed aside and gave it two hard bangs as each foundation below the metal bars gave way. Naruto ripped the bars out then swiftly jumped and pulled himself up and out of the small crevice. He reached down as Shikamaru silently passed Sakura up to him. After setting her aside on the ground next to him. Shikamaru jumped up and grabbed onto Naruto's arms as the blond hoisted him up.

"We have a matter of minutes before they find out she's gone." Shikamaru said as he helped lift Sakura onto Naruto's back and tossed a cloak over her pink hair to disguise themselves.

They figured that weaving down the busy streets was the safest route to make it look like they had nothing to hide, but their pace was still frantic trying to get out of the city. When they came to the gate after reacquiring their horses, two guards had stopped them and asked about the limp body Naruto had in his lap.

"My ill sister" he said, "We're going to a neighboring town's apothecary to see if they can help her condition."

"Let me see" a guard said unbelievingly as he reached up for Sakura's cloak.

Naruto swiftly slapped his hand away, "Her condition is sensitivity to sunlight. If you harm her, we're going to have a problem."

Naruto's intense gaze was enough to frighten the man away from attempting to touch Sakura again.

"Very well" he said as he let the two men on their horses.

However after they had rode not even 200 yards away from the gates they noticed that the guards were chasing after them on foot. A few on horse back followed about a half mile behind them.

"We can't stop" Shikamaru shouted over the sound of beating hoofs, "If we do they'll kill us!"

A few arrows even whizzed by their heads from horse back archers. Luckily all of the arrows missed since they were so far away. Naruto snapped the reigns on his horse harder as Shikamaru did the same. It seemed like the pursuit lasted for hours. After night fell it was hard for Naruto and Shikamaru to see their perusers, but they still had no intention of stopping to find out. After the sun rose the next day Shikamaru was angry to see that they were still being chased like mice.

"A few more hours" Naruto growled, "A few more hours and we'll reach the city!"

"Water" Sakura moaned with her cracked voice, "Please" she pleaded.

"Forgive me" Naruto clenched his teeth as he hugged Sakura to his chest, "When we get back home you'll have more than water, princess."

Sakura's eyes simply rolled back into her head from depravity before Naruto felt the wind stinging his eyes from riding so fast. After the fifty food steel gates of Konoha came into sight Naruto wave an arm at the guards, and Shikamaru pointed behind them at their enemies. A few seconds later the bell on the wall rang out as a few soldiers scrambled onto the terrace. Some arches walked up and knocked their bows while aiming in the distance.

"They can't open the gate yet" Naruto growled as he tried to lead the antagonizing party of four or five closer to the wall so the archers could take them out.

"Fire!" Naruto heard a familiar voice yell from the top of the wall.

He looked up to see none other than white haired Kakashi with an elated expression on his face as seeing the person Naruto was holding onto his saddle in front of him. Within a matter of seconds one by one the enemy party fell. Some of their horses were left wandering the field around their corpses.

"Send the reconnaissance squad to collect their remains" Shikamaru ordered as soon as he and Naruto were inside the city gates.

Shikamaru stuck around to give Kakashi a briefing of their mission success while Naruto rode furiously off towards the palace. It seemed no one was in the foyer when he arrived, but the blond didn't waste anytime carrying Sakura to Tsunade's office. After practically kicking the door in he set Sakura down on a bed. Tsunade jumped slightly at the intrusion before she saw the pinkette.

"Why do they always bring her here in this condition?" Tsunade asked angrily as she immediately went to work assessing the extent of Sakura's injuries and afflictions.

"Who goes to a doctor when they feel well?" Naruto quipped trying to lighten the mood Tsunade was drowning in.

"Get out" she sneered at him, "And keep anyone else from entering, even the prince and king. I don't care."

Naruto raised his brows as he walked towards the door, looking over his shoulder one last time at the pinkette laying on the bed.

* * *

"Let me see her!" Sasuke growled, "If you won't move, I'll _make_ you."

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a blank stare. He knew Sasuke's threat wasn't that he would make Naruto move with a royal decree. It would more likely end up that Sasuke would make him move with his fist.

"Tsunade's orders. She said to not let anyone inside, even you, while she's treating Sakura. I think she needs to focus, and if you interrupt that, you could hurt Sakura. Do you really want to do that?"

Sasuke took a moment to analyze Naruto's words before conceding and scowling at the blond. Naruto had a point, but Sasuke didn't have to like it. The raven haired prince leaned against the wall next to Naruto who was standing in front of the door. The two of them stood in silence until they had stood for so long they slowly sank and sat on the floor. Night had fallen and Sasuke wasn't sure what eternity felt like, but the hours felt like they would never end. At some point he blacked out and woke up to a hand on his shoulder. Naruto was gently shaking him while speaking his name. Sasuke's eyes snapped open as he jerked his head towards the doorway where Tsunade stood.

"You can look, but don't touch" she warned him with a scowl before walking back inside.

"What does she mean?" he asked as he turned to look over at Naruto.

The blond just shook his head before looking down at the ground with a melancholy expression, "She was in pretty bad shape, Sasuke. The man who we identified as a sympathizer of ours was in charge of her imprisonment and when we found him he practically lost it and cried because he thought Sakura was going to die if she stayed any longer."

Sasuke's eyes went wide before he asked, "What of the baby?"

Naruto shrugged. He really didn't know anything about the condition of the baby. His only goal was to get Sakura here alive, and he achieved that goal and felt he did so by the skin of his teeth. Upon seeing his friend's expression Sasuke's rushed into the room fearing the worst.

"What of the baby?" He asked with a panicked expression before walking over to Tsunade.

She looked at him with a scowl, "Look, don't touch, and _shut up_ " she added the last part with extra malice.

Sasuke returned her scowl before hissing, "I have a right to know."

"I didn't know of any baby, until I put my hand on her stomach."

"And?" Sasuke gritted his teeth impatiently.

"For now it's still there. Sakura will need more time to recover before I can fully asses the health of both mother and child, but for now he's still beating in there."

"How old?"

"I'm not sure" Tsunade rubbed her chin, "I'd guess anywhere between eight and nine weeks."

"Right before the general tryouts..." Sasuke whispered to himself.

"Yes, we all know about your little room visits. This doesn't surprise me. What will surprise me is how you pull of a hurry-up wedding in this situation without alerting your father."

"You're not going to tell him are you?" Sasuke scowled at the blond doctor.

Tsunade raised her hands in mock surrender as she growled, "Your family affairs are not my problem. I have no need to tell your father. I'll let you do that yourself."

Sasuke let out a small sigh of relief as he turned his attention back to the frail pinkette laying in the bed. The way her cheeks had sunken into her face and collar bone and top half of her ribs were visible made Sasuke cringe. She didn't look like the Sakura he remembered sending off. The wear and tear on her wrist and ankles made it evident that she was shackled for an extended period of time. Sasuke reached out to her hand that as on the bed in front of him, but remembered Tsunade's words.

 _Look, don't touch._

It pained him to not be able to touch his future wife and mother of his child. After a few moments of silence sitting in a chair by Sakura's bedside they heard running footsteps slamming down the stone hallway. A frantically crying and panting Ino was leaning on the door frame as she stared in disbelief at the pinkette beside her.

Tsunade swiveled around in her chair at her desk and said, "I'll tell you the same thing I told him. Look, but don't touch."

Ino nodded as she plodded into the room and collapsed on the floor by Sakura's bedside in tears, "I thought I would never see her again" she sobbed, "I thought I had lost my best friend, forever."

"She'll be ok" Naruto tried to put a comforting hand on Ino's shoulder as he watched the train wreck of a woman sit in a pool of self hate and relief.

"Visiting hours are over soon. Sakura needs rest more than anything." Tsunade interrupted their love fest, "I know it's only morning and you've only gotten to see her for less than an hour, but you'd be surprised how much sleep you don't get being a prisoner of war for several weeks. She needs to regain her strength and her consciousness before I can let any of you see her again."

"Then why did you let us see her at all?" Sasuke hissed indignantly as tears threatened to pool in the corners of his eyes.

Tsunade raised her brows at the prince's oncoming temper tantrum "Because I wanted to give you comfort and proof that she was actually here since you didn't physically see her come into the palace.

Sasuke stood from his chair by Sakura's bedside and gave Tsunade one last expressionless stare before walking out of the infirmary room and down the hallway. After wandering purposelessly around the castle Sasuke decided to go to Sakura's room. It'd been empty for weeks and the maids had been keeping it clean in Sakura's absence even though her return was uncertain. Sasuke was glad that upon entering the room it was completely empty of maids and servants. After closing the door and locking it behind him he sat on her bed, and wept. He cried tears of frustration that he was stuck behind the city walls, unable to defend Sakura. He cried tears of anger at her captor, who had starved and tortured her for weeks, putting her life on the line as well as his future child's. He cried tears of relief, that his betrothed was finally back where he could reach her, even if he wasn't able to touch her yet. He cried tears of worry, wondering what would become of his unborn progeny as well as Sakura's health. It was uncertain if she would improve, or how fast she would recover. All Tsunade let on was that she wasn't in immediate danger of dying at that moment. After mentally torturing himself for hours, Sasuke finally gave in to the stress and laid back on her bed. The sheets still smelled like her, and he could pick up traces of himself as well from nights they'd spend together. He grabbed the pillow opposite of him on Sakura's side of the bed and hugged it to his chest as he fell asleep clenching his teeth.

* * *

"We have to make a move now" Sasuke insisted in the war room of generals as they looked at a map they'd generated from the information Ino had acquired.

"No" Kakashi cut him off, "I know that you have a personal grudge now that you have to avenge, but your father is still right. These city walls are both our best defense and our best weapons. If they come to us they are committing suicide and they know it."

"That's exactly why the _won't_ come to our gates!" Sasuke shouted as he banged one of his fists against the table, "If we don't take the fight to them then our neighboring allies who have sworn an oat to us will get burned to ground by him before they reach our gates! Too many innocents will die that way!"

"Then what else do you propose besides trying to ransack a town on the outskirts of the kingdom?" Fugaku scowled at his son, "Sending small platoons of soldiers split-up between neighboring towns won't do any good. Madara's forces are big enough to wipe them out on by one."

"Pressure them" Sasuke finally said after a few moments of contemplation, "Make it seem like we're forging an army to march outside our city walls to them. They'll have to come directly here to deal with us as a threat instead of burning every town and village on their way here. If they take their sweet time ransacking locals then they'll think we'll be too well prepared by the time they get here. They'll have to get here swiftly."

"We already are prepared to deal with them" Kakashi said blankly, "And I think they know that."

"They don't" Naruto interjected.

He knew that it wasn't necessarily his place speaking at a general's meeting but considering his first hand encounter with a man he could probably say was second in command, he felt that what he had to say was accurate.

"Then what do they know?" Gaara asked with curiosity.

Naruto scratched the back of his head before answering, "From my understand they know very little about us. They know a lot of about the city's infrastructure because Madara is leading the army, but they don't know about our numbers since we've been growing behind the city walls, and we've been weeding out spies efficiently to where I don't think word has spread back to Madara because of that."

Asuma nodded in understanding before Gaara asked, "All in favor of Sasuke's pressure plan say aye."

Kakashi, Gaara, and Sasuke all agreed. Since Sakura was incapacitated the vote was still the majority and the motion passed.

Sasuke wiped an exhausted hand across his face as he ordered, "Get a captured spy to send the false information back. Make madara think we have exponentially more numbers than we do, and he'll come running to squash us before we become anymore unsurmountable."

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Naruto asked Sasuke as they walked back down the hall from the general's meeting.

Sasuke made a "tch" noise before he asked, "You got any better ideas?"

Naruto just scratched his head before answering, "I saw all the siege equipment they have… I don't think it's enough to annihilate our walls quickly, but they'll do some damage and possibly make it into the city before they're defeated."

"If we don't draw them quickly to the city walls" Sasuke grunted, "Then they'll ravage the farm lands and kill all of those people before they come to the city. Either scenario people die Naruto. It's a sad reality, but one I've come to accept. This is the best approach because if they have free time to raze all our agriculture, the city will have no food for months and people will starve to death as well as those who get slaughtered by Madara's men on their way here."

Naruto nodded. Suddenly, Sasuke had to stop walking down the stone hallway as he pinched the skin of his nose between his eyes to delay an oncoming headache. He'd hardly slept and felt like a miserable wreck, but he knew he had responsibilities that didn't allow for sick days.

"Your highness!" A servant came running down the hall waving his arm, "Lady Tsunade requested that I come get you."

"For what reason?" Sasuke asked with narrow eyes, coming off more annoyed than he intended to.

The servant cringed slightly before answering, "I'm not sure m'lord. She wouldn't tell me."

Sasuke inwardly groaned before nodding and turning on his heel towards the infirmary. Naruto followed right behind him. After the two of them had made it to the doorway Tsunade greeted them with a scowl. Sasuke noticed this was typical of her but there was something extra protective in her glance.

"Don't pressure her" Tsunade looked right at Sasuke, "I know it's been quite a few days, but don't pressure her to recover quickly. If you do she'll try to use her own self-healing medical powers and that could do more harm than good. She could accidentally end up syphoning the energy of the baby, and kill it. Tell her to heal at her body's natural pace."

Sasuke looked wide eyed at the woman for a moment before nodding and trying to look over her shoulder into the infirmary. He couldn't quite see her, but once Tsunade moved to the side of the door he saw Sakura sitting up in the infirmary bed inside. He quickly came to her bedside as he looked at her face and into her eyes. Her eyes almost looked empty.

"I'm so sorry" Sakura told him, "I promised you I would be ok, and I'm not."

"You don't have to apologize" Sasuke grunted at her trying to find the words she needed to hear, "I shouldn't have let you go. There were plenty of other people who could've gone, but I let you."

Sakura weakly smiled as she looked up at his face full of concern, "At least I'm home now."

"Aa" Sasuke grunted as he took one of her frail hands in his, "And you aren't going anywhere until you're completely healed and have had the child."

"What about the campaign?" Sakura asked with a scowl, "I'm expected to participate, that's why I'm a general."

Sasuke slowly shook his head before trying to be firm, "I can't allow you to leave knowing you have my child. I don't want anything like what you just went through to ever happen to you again."

"Sasuke..." Sakura sighed in slight agitation, "You can't live your whole life afraid for me, and I can't live my whole life hiding in your shadow."

Sasuke clenched his teeth as Sakura's stubbornness. He was about to reply again before hearing a coughing in the doorway. He looked over his shoulder is slight shock to find his father standing there. Fearing for the worst Sasuke calmly spoke to him.

"How long have you been standing there?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

Fugaku quirked a brow before replying, "I just got here."

Sasuke let a little relief rush through him, thinking his father hadn't heard about the secret unborn child.

"How long?" Fugaku asked Tsunade who raised her brows wondering what he was referring to, "How long until she's back on her feet and ready for war."

Tsunade gave a sideways glance at Sasuke knowing full well that Sakura might not be battle ready if they started the campaign while she was later on in her pregnancy. However the problem was trying to come up with a different reason so as not to alarm Fugaku to her secret.

"I'm not sure" she shrugged, "It depends on how resilient her body is. She was sent off on that mission just days after recovering from the mitotic regeneration. She wasn't fully healed then, and she certainly isn't in good condition now."

"So you're telling me that she can't go?" Fugaku eyed the blond doctor critically.

Tsunade crossed her arms before scowling and responding, "I'm telling you that it's uncertain."

Fugaku clenched his teeth slightly before looking over to Sakura and Sasuke then turning on his heel to leave the room. Without missing a beat, Sasuke rose up from where he was sitting and quickly left the room to catch up with his father.

"Wait" Sasuke called from behind him. Fugaku stopped and turned to look at Sasuke as the prince said, "please don't put any pressure on Sakura to recover."

"Why not?" Fugaku scowled, "We have important things to discuss and even more important things to do."

"Just don't" Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation at how he had to be ambiguous, "If you stress her out her condition won't improve. She'll end up trying to use her healing abilities on herself and it'll only hurt her right now since she isn't at her best."

"Have Tsunade do it. I don't care, just make sure she's healed in a week so that we can leave on our campaign. She won the general's seat, now it's time for her to use it."

Fugaku waved a casual hand over his shoulder to indicate his departure and ending of the conversation. Sasuke wasn't happy at all with the situation and didn't want Sakura to participate in any part of the military campaign. He was hoping that the general's seat was just a show of bravado so that the crown could justify a pauper marring a prince, but it seemed the Fugaku had every intention of utilizing Sakura's military skills. He knew what his father had in mind. Sakura would essentially act as a second Tsunade on the battlefield, but more versatile and useful seeing as she was combat capable.

Sasuke returned to the room to see Naruto still sitting near the clinic door with Sakura sullenly sitting on her bed in silence looking down at her lap.

"Don't pay him any mind" Sasuke told her, "Just rest and you'll get better eventually. Don't push yourself."

Tsunade raised a surprised brow at the prince having taken her words to heart about Sakura's condition and the fact that the pinkette shouldn't be using her healing abilities on herself at the moment. Sasuke sat with Sakura in silence for a while before Sakura looked around the room with uncertainty. Sasuke could tell that she was uncomfortable and visibly nodded to Naruto who then nodded back and left the clinic room. Tsunade scowled at the prince as he looked at her next.

"I work here" she stated in irritation, "I won't simply leave because you're staring at me."

"Your _only_ patient would like some privacy" Sasuke narrowed his eyes back at her as he gestured to all the other empty clinic beds.

Tsunade rolled her eyes before staring at the two of them, "Fine. I'll go get some food, but when I come back you two better still have clothes on" was her last comment before leaving the two of them in silence inside the stone walls.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked with slight concern as he saw her shaking.

"I don't know" she started sobbing, "I'm back here, but some how I still don't feel safe."

"You are safe though" Sasuke tried to reassure her, "No one in the castle is trying to hurt you, and certainly not with Tsunade in arm's reach of you."

Sakura nodded before she explained, "There's just this constant feeling of dread that I have now. After spending so many days on a damp cellar floor I think something inside of me isn't the same anymore."

Sasuke felt himself crack inside. He considered himself to be a rather cold person emotionally, but Sakura was causing is icy foundation to crack. He didn't like the way her eyes gleamed of an unspoken sadness that he would probably never understand. He remembered Naruto saying that the insurgent that helped them even cried when he found them on behalf of Sakura. If it was bad enough that someone who was a witness would cry about it, then Sasuke could only imagine the pain and suffering she went through.

"I said I would never let him break me" Sakura sniffled, "But I don't know if I can say that anymore."

"He didn't..." Sasuke trailed off before trying to calmly ask, "He didn't _touch_ you did he?"

Sakura shook her head, "He threatened to, but he never made good on it. I wasn't treated that way, but they did just about everything else."

"What happened?"

"I hardly had anything to eat. I had one ladle scoop of water a day. I had to sit in my own excrement. My skin started developing sores from sitting in my own urine and natural dampness of the underground cellar for so long. Madara used me as a human dart board once he discovered my self healing ability. If it weren't for Yahiko sneaking me vegetables and rice and extra water I would've died from dehydration and malnutrition in there. I only had a small window at the top of my cell, but I could never actually see the sky. It really was a unique hell that I never wish to experience again."

By the time she'd finished explaining there were rivers streaming down her face while she was clenching her bed sheets with white knuckles. Sasuke felt the corners of his eyes sting though they remained dry. His throat was constricted as he felt rage fill his lungs. If Madara was right in front of him Sasuke knew he wouldn't kill the man, he would flay the skin off him, torture each nerve ending, and gouge his eyes out before making him swallow them as he died. Words couldn't begin to describe the indignation Sasuke felt for what had happened to Sakura. This was the first time in his life he truly regretted something. Knowingly he let her go into a dangerous situation, and he wished that he could take it back.

"Rest" Sasuke tried to hide the crack in his voice as he gently pushed on Sakura's shoulder to lower her onto her back against the mattress so she could lay down to sleep.

Sakura's face was still red with tears as Sasuke kissed her forehead and stood to leave the clinic so she could rest. He could tell that he'd unintentionally ripped an emotional scab and unfortunately there wasn't anything he could do to fix it yet. He was utterly powerless to comfort her because she was so ill, like a wilting flower, that if she was handled to harshly she might break apart. After silently closing the door behind him Sasuke saw Tsunade leaning against the wall. The blond had never left.

"Post traumatic stress" Tsunade dead panned at him without making eye contact, "Her symptoms, she has a type of disorder that triggers a stress response. Like paranoia but susceptible to outbursts of extreme distress and emotion."

Sasuke walked to the wall across from the clinic door as he slammed his fist into the wall to vent his frustration. There was a small crack in the mortar and stone wall after he removed his curled fingers. He knew that she wasn't ok physically, but now knowing that she wasn't ok mentally just added onto the stress he felt for her situation.

"Is there at least a cure for that?" Sasuke scowled.

"Time" Tsunade shrugged, "Sometimes these things will go away with time if it's only temporary. If the effects of what happened to her are permanent, then no. It's just something that she'll have to cope with the rest of her life, as will you."

"Why is that whenever we do something with good intentions it ends up like this?" Sasuke asked with a darkly rhetorical tone to his voice.

Tsunade didn't bother to answer him knowing that wasn't what he was asking for. She simple walked back inside the clinic and closed the door behind her. Determined to watch over Sakura and make sure the pinkette didn't do anything stupid like use her healing abilities.

* * *

"She's almost ready?" Naruto asked trying to lighten the mood.

Sasuke nodded before he wiped a frustrated hand over his face, "But the king hasn't changed his mind. She's still expected on the campaign trail."

"She'll be back with the archers though, right?"

"He's thinking about it" Sasuke sighed, "But my guess is because of her rare healing ability he will place her in the middle so that she is able to heal both front and back lines, even if she's caught in heavy cross fire. Close to what Tsunade does on the back lines. But he'll put Sakura on the battle field because of her combat skills. Tsunade can't fight, so throwing her into the fray will only get her killed. Somehow my father thinks that won't happen to Sakura."

"Well..." Naruto sighed, "Does he know anything else? Y'know... about..."

Sasuke looked around scowling before turning to Naruto with a critical stare, "No, and we shouldn't be talking about it either."

"I heard Ino's been taking care of her all morning in the clinic. She's been throwing up pretty badly. Do you think she knows?"

"I don't know" Sasuke shrugged, "As long as my father doesn't and he thinks it's just a stomach bug or illness then I don't care."

"Fair enough" Naruto grunted before turning to him with a smirk, "Y'know, you could use a distraction."

"I'm plenty distracted" Sasuke glared at him.

"Then you need to be distracted from your distractions."

"How does that even work?"

"Like this" Naruto smirked before flicking a spoon full of his food at Sasuke's face.

After the food collided with the prince's face he almost jerked out of his seat before picking up his whole plate and throwing it at Naruto in return. The blond twisted so the plate slapped his arm, smearing all the contents of Sasuke's dinner down his sleeves. Naruto then picked up his wine and slung it back at the prince as well. The retaliation continued in their corner of the dining hall and became noticed by all the other patrons down there as they watched with mixed expressions of amusement, confusion, and shell shock. Some of them were a little appalled but since they knew Naruto was best friends with the prince, his actions were relatively overlooked.

"Stop it this instant!" came the queen's voice from about fifty yards away. She immediately stomped towards the two boys who had an expression of deer in the headlights, "Look at all this food you just wasted" she scowled, "You're supposed to be a married man in a week but you can't even eat your own food properly" she hissed as she grabbed Sasuke's arm and started dragging him out.

After walking a few feet she turned on her heel and grabbed Naruto as well. He was like a second son to her since the blond was so close to Sasuke. His parents lived on their estate a ways outside the city as the governors of one of the province's that cooperated with Konoha. They only visited on a few holidays. It gave Naruto some extra leverage with regards to his behavior since he wasn't just a noble, he was the son of ruling nobles.

"How on earth could you two behave that way?" Mikoto put her hands on her hips as she looked at the two of them, "I understand that you guys have a lot going on, but you can't let your propriety slip like that. You aren't children anymore. You're grown men as far as I'm concerned."

"I'm sorry" Naruto sheepishly smiled while rubbing the back of his head, "It's my fault really. I was trying to get Sasuke's mind off of some things and I thought that might be a good distraction."

"Well find a better one next time" Mikoto quipped before smacking him on the head, "I'm going to have to tell your mother about this I hope you know."

Naruto laughed nervously as he just tried to keep himself out of even more trouble.

"And you" Mikoto turned to Sasuke, "You and I need to talk later."

After that last work Mikoto stomped off away from the two of them. Sasuke assumed it was to compose herself. She never liked discussing anything with anyone while angry, which was something he relatively admired about his mother. She would never talk to any of them while angry so that she had less of a chance of venting her anger towards them if it was undeserved. Sasuke felt like he deserved it though. He was off trying to waste time while Sakura recovered. He had almost nothing to do since the generals were adjourned until Sakura would be able to attend the meetings. His father already jumped the gun on the wedding plans since people all over the castle were setting up flower arrangements, banners, cloths, tapestries, candelabras, the whole place looked like a festival. Sakura wasn't even out of the clinic yet. Sasuke had no way of knowing if she would be well in time for the ceremony. His father was so determined to see her marry him that he said if they had to they would have Sakura sign the contract and hold the ceremony at a later date.

"You" Ino said as she walked up to Sasuke, "We need to..." she trailed off as she took in his food smeared appearance, "What happened to _you_?"

"Naruto" Sasuke's mouth visibly twitched in a mixture of slight amusement and irritation, "What do you want?"

"We need to talk" Ino crossed her arms at him with a look that told Sasuke he was in trouble.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

* * *

"We didn't have to come to your chambers to talk" Ino regarded him with a scowl as she stood in his foyer while he emerged from his bathroom with fresh, non food covered clothes on.

"Tch" he scoffed before he sat down at a table in the middle of his room, "I already have a feeling about what you're going to say, and if I'm right then it's best if it's said in here, especially if it regards Sakura."

"Then let's skip the formalities and playing dumb" Ino grunted, "I think if anyone were taking care of Sakura for an extended period of time they'd be privy to her symptoms. It's obvious."

Sasuke pinched the skin between his eyes as he felt the onset of a headache. It seemed less and less enjoyable talking to Ino lately as she continually accosted him either with bad news or something else negative.

"Yes I know."

"Well of course _you_ know. You put it there. I'm assuming that's why you risked Naruto's life to bring her back."

Sasuke just nodded slightly while staring at her with half lidded eyes of annoyance and mild agitation.

"How long were you going to let the rest of us wait to know?" Ino crossed her arms.

"I was going to keep it from everyone for as long as possible, so that we'd be married and have ample time to avoid suspicion. Hopefully people won't do the math in their heads properly when the child is born."

"Well it's a good thing that it's only me and Tsunade that know. You realize that if word spreads about this to anyone else they'd try to ruin her, right?"

Sasuke once again nodded in response before wiping a frustrated hand over his face. He didn't feel like explaining that Naruto knew as well, and Shikamaru. If she knew that Shikamaru had kept that from her she might actually kill the man. It was times like this that made Sasuke question the blond's sanity. His patience for her ranting was slowly slipping as well.

"It's a good thing the wedding is in two days" Ino sighed, "Although I don't know how she'll be able to suffer you."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as his voice went cold, "I don't want an execution on the same day as a wedding, so please hold your tongue."

The room stalled in awkward silence with both parties staring dangerously at each other. Sasuke didn't want to be bothered at the moment as he was already tortured by his demons without this spitfire coming in and shredding his sanity as well. Ino took the hint and left his chambers. Sasuke let out an audible sigh before retiring to his inner chambers where his bed was. He was not ready to become a price, but he was most definitely not ready to become a husband and a father. Especially so close together. He knew that mistakes were made, but he was living his life, and these consequences reminded him what it meant to be alive.

* * *

"No put them here" Here Mikoto pointed at a large sheet of paper, "The Yamanakas do _not_ get along with the Hebi's (Karin's family), don't ask" she added that last part with a whisper, "Put the Yamanakas with the Naras instead. Ino and Shikamaru have been courting casually for a while now, so it's probably good that their houses sit together. Add the Akamichis there as well"

The scribe nodded while writing a line through the names of noble houses and rearranging them to Mikoto's liking. Normally this would be Sakura's responsibility but seeing how she hadn't had enough time to socialize with all the noble houses and know who did and didn't get along well, it would fall on the Queen's shoulders instead. The wedding was starting to come together as the great hall in the castle was adorned with banners and flowers everywhere. The crest of the Uchiha on navy banners with the Haruno circle on red banners were strewn side by side together throughout the castle. Despite Sakura having no living relatives, her family crest was still important to put on display for the wedding, so it showed the merging of two houses, or in Sakura's case, her being absorbed into the Uchihas being the last survivor of her surname.

"Busy as usual I see, mother" Sasuke came up next to Mikoto casually looking over her shoulder at the seating charts.

"Yes, but do you need something?" Mikoto asked with a raised brow.

"Not really" Sasuke sighed, "I just need something to do."

Mikoto scowled at him. She remembered when she was being brought over from her own kingdom to be married to Fugaku and he'd been standoffish much the same way. With Sakura out of commission she'd be damned if she let her son slack of on purpose.

"Go do something useful and oversee the kitchen preparations" Mikoto narrowed her eyes in slight irritation at her son, "Make sure they're making enough food for over 500 guests. This castle will be filled and so will everyone's stomachs."

With no room for discussion, Sasuke simply turned on his heel to go check in on the kitchen. When he walked in it was utter chaos. There was a ton of prep work being done with crumbs, blood, sweat, and probably tears on the kitchen floor. The blood was from the pheasants, geese, and chicken being slaughtered in order to cook them for the feast. The cows and pigs were slaughtered out on the ranches outside the city with the meat transported inside. Considering a cow was much too big to slaughter and divide inside a kitchen area. After walking through and seeing several nervous kitchen servants scurry out of his, Sasuke deemed that everyone was doing as much as they could to prepare, and all of the food looked delicious. It was hard to tell since many things were being prepped to marinade overnight or otherwise so that they could be cooked fresh just before the wedding feast.

"My lord!" One of the head kitchen servants bowed and regarded Sasuke, "Did you come to check on the feast?" They tried to sound happy but the nervousness was evident in their voice.

Sasuke made a simple nod before asking, "How long do you need to cook so that everything can be ready by the time the feast starts?"

"We'll be cooking the final items at dawn my grace so that we're able to get everything out to the banquet on time. I promise it'll all be perfect."

Sasuke tried to smile, but really he wasn't interested at all in any of this wedding nonsense. He wanted to hold Sakura in his arms and simply be done with it already. Once he exited the kitchen he made a b-line for his chambers. The only reason he'd agreed to go to the kitchen was because he knew the blood of the slaughtered animals would prove useful for him. He withdrew a small vial of blood he managed to fill from his pocket. He tucked it safely away again already intending to use it very soon. However his plans for the rest of the day consisted of barricading himself in his room until it was time to say his "I do's." He'd be damned before he let his mother catch him and send him on another fools errand. The only reason he hadn't gone to see Sakura is because he wasn't allowed. It was tradition that the bride and groom not see each other the entire day before their wedding. He wasn't going to see her until she came walking down the isle. He was informed that her condition had significantly improved, and she was walking, talking, and eating well from what Ino told him. She also informed him, much to his relief, that her stomach wasn't showing at all, yet.

The priceless life inside of Sakura was one of Sasuke's biggest concerns. He wanted her to drop from the military campaign and even renounce her title as general if he could have his way. More concerning than the child itself was the limitations it put on Sakura in her capacity to use her abilities. His father had taken special interest in her healing magic and the fact that she was able to wield it so freely. However the child would be harmed at this point if Sakura drained any life force to use on someone else, or even herself. It would use the child's life force first, and kill it, before it tapped into Sakura's reserves. The brooding coal haired prince clenched his fists as he revisited those dark feelings of hopelessness and uncertainty until a knock had snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Well hello brother dearest" Itachi sarcastically cooed as he entered Sasuke's room, "The tailor is here to make last minute adjustments to your garments for tomorrow."

Sasuke let out a low groan before allowing the other man who was toting bundles of cloth and supplies into his room. Once he stood in front of the full length mirror he started to zone out in his own reflection. This was how he was going to look tomorrow when Sakura saw him on her way down the aisle. However he was hoping that his facial expression would be much more pleasant than it was now.

"You do look very good y'know" Itachi tried to break the awkward silence that Sasuke was prolonging by diving into his subconscious repeatedly.

Sasuke momentarily snapped himself out of his trance to reply to his brother, "I probably won't wear something this nice again until my funeral."

Even though the reference was dark, the older brother laughed at the morbid joke. It was true that the royal family's men tended not to walk around in flashy get ups during their normal presidings around the castle halls. They usually just donned high quality leather, cloth emblazoned with their family crest, sometimes with expensive accessories like custom swords or otherwise. Only during festivals, balls, and social events such as this did the royal family all dress up in their finest silk and wear their true crowns that had precious stones in them. Sasuke knew the difference between his silver crown embedded with rubies and diamonds from his steel one with an inlayed pattern that adorned no jewels. The later is the one that he normally found himself wearing on daily basis. While the other crown was much more flashy and intimidating, it was also prone to wear and tear and subsequent damage if he wore it recklessly.

"Put the other one on" Itachi nodded towards the aforementioned silver crown lying on its normal pillow on display in his room.

Sasuke gave his brother a quizzical glance with a quirked brow before nodding. Itachi considered the gesture his queue to grab the crown for his brother, since the prince was busy being treated like a pin cushion by the tailor. Carefully Itachi swapped the crowns and nodded with a slight grin in approval. The tailor even noticed the staunch difference between his appearance when wearing the other symbol of his royal status.

"Very nice m'lord" the man smiled from where he was adjusting the hem of the fur lined cape that Sasuke was wearing.

Sasuke let a small smirk grace his lips, the first one his brother had seen on him in over a week. It baffled Sasuke how even though his brother terrorized and agitated him to no end, when it came down to it, he would always do what he could to comfort Sasuke in times of need. The prince tried to give his brother a glimpse of the small upward curve in his lips before turning back around to the mirror as he watched the tailor finish putting pins in strategic places for his clothes to be altered accordingly.

"Good luck tomorrow, little brother" Itachi sighed with a warm smirk as he took his pointer and middle finger and bumped Sasuke's forehead affectionately.

"I need energy more than I need luck" Sasuke crossed his arms, fatigue shadowing his face.

Itachi was on his way out the door when he stood in the doorway to glimpse back at his brother from over his shoulder, "I'm sure when you see her, you'll have all the energy you need."

"Have you seen her already?" Sasuke asked confused.

Itachi shook his head, "No, but I'm on my way to go see her right now."

"Wait" Sasuke walked over to quickly switch crowns again to his less formal one, "Give her this."

It was a note that the prince had written while swimming in his mental pool of anguish that he had made for himself. He tried to write his wedding vows, but he ended up writing a letter to Sakura instead. He had no way of getting it to her before the wedding since he couldn't see her, and he figured any attempts to communicate with her would be thwarted by typical castle staff and servants, but this was his brother. Rule bending was something he indulged in all the time.

"Can't wait can you?" Itachi now sported a shit eating grin.

Sasuke rolled his eyes before putting the folded, wax-sealed note in Itachi's hands, "Just make sure she gets it."

Itachi shook his head with amusement while trying to hold in a chuckle before tucking the note in his sleeve and walking down the hall. After Itachi was out of sight, Sasuke decided that what he needed the most was rest. If the duel-purpose engagement banquet was any indication of tomorrow's events then Sasuke would need his full stamina to get through the day, no doubt through most of the night as well. Festivities like this were few and far in between. Parties like the one planned for tomorrow were a rare and extravagant occasion.

* * *

Sakura and Ino were in her chambers trying to go over things for tomorrow's ceremony. Mikoto had already paid the pinkette a visit in order to go over finer details and make sure that Sakura agreed with all of the aesthetic decisions being made for the decorations and flowers and so on. Sakura took a huge breath of air once it was all over. She felt overwhelmed just being asked "yes or no" when presented with something. She couldn't fathom how the queen seemed to be doing this as if it were as easy as breathing air.

"Sakura" Ino called her name to grasp her attention, "Itachi's out in the hall, do you want to let him in?"

"Sure" Sakura sighed, "Wait!" She quickly squeaked, "Hide the dress!"

Ino took the beautiful white and pink laced gown that was mounted on a wooden stand into the bathroom in order to keep it from Itachi's prying eyes. She had just received the dress and tried it on earlier once the tailor had altered it from measurements taken a few days ago. She was back in her regular tabard and silk pants for her own comfort, despite the fact that she wasn't training at that moment.

"Well hello" Itachi smiled as he sauntered into the room, "How are you fairing dearest princess?"

"Oh cut the crap" Sakura crossed her arms, "We both know you don't need to speak with that kind of formality."

"Yes, but it gets under your skin" Itachi smirked, "That's what makes it fun."

Sakura's brow twitched in slight irritation as she asked, "Is there something you needed?"

Itachi just gave her a genuine smile before sitting next to her, "I honestly just wanted to make sure that you were ok. You have a big day tomorrow, and you have not been in the best of health. I heard Tsunade partially drained herself in order to quicken your healing process so you'd be ready for the wedding."

Sakura nodded with slight guilt in her eyes, "Tsunade exhausted herself, but thankfully I am indeed feeling much better."

"Well, hopefully you'll still feel good tomorrow" Itachi was trying to be positive.

Sakura just quirked a brow at the man. He was known to be useful and somewhat decent, however you could hardly define him as the sort of person to go out of his way to be kind. It almost made Sakura feel creeped out if it weren't for the extraordinary circumstances. She was definitely on the brink with the state she had returned to the castle, and tomorrow was supposed to be one the biggest milestones in her life. When she considered those two things, Itachi's surprise visit didn't warrant that much suspicion.

"I hope I do too" Sakura looked over to Ino nervously.

Ino knew what Sakura was hinting at. The poor pinkette had been vomiting profusely that morning, and if Sakura happened to fall ill during her ceremony then suspicions would be raised and Sakura's head might get put on a proverbial platter. Sakura had told Ino about the chewable poultice that she was given by her jail-breaker while in captivity that was made by one of his teammates. Unfortunately Sakura didn't have a sample for Ino to analyze. The blond had been trying to recreate the bundle of herbs so that Sakura could get some relief from her symptoms, but to no avail. There were a few mixtures that slightly worked, but Ino was still experimenting, trying to get the right mixture for maximum efficacy.

"Is there anything you need from _me_?" Itachi asked.

Sakura looked at him again with the same quirked brow expression that displayed her confusion before saying, "Not really, but I appreciate the sentiment."

Itachi nodded before he said, "Well I happen to need something from you."

"Oh?" Sakura's face twitched in mild agitation.

Just moments ago he said he didn't need anything from her other than confirmation on her improved health, and now he was changing his mind and asking a favor.

"It seems you have a secret admirer. I need you to read his note" Itachi had to try and stifle a laugh as he pulled the folded parchment out of his sleeve and handed it to her.

Sakura immediately noticed the wax seal on the note as Sasuke's and slapped Itachi's arm in jest for the anxiety he'd almost risen out of her. Ino chuckled once the realization had dawned on her as well. With a laugh and a wave Itachi wished Sakura good luck before leaving her as well.

"What does it say?" Ino immediately tried to pry, but noticed Sakura's eyes melting like the winter snow, a form of dew starting to gather in the corners of her eyes.

Ino took the queue and stepped away from the pinkette and decided to give her some space by taking a seat near her door. It was tradition for the bride to be chaperoned on the night before her wedding as to insure her propriety and patience for the ceremony. However Ino laughed at the irony of the tradition considering the chaperoning came much too late. Sakura appreciated the space as she continued to read Sasuke's note that had her almost in a puddle of tears. They were happy tears, but she knew her hormones were raging, tugging at her heart strings.

 _Sakura,_

 _The day I first laid eyes on you, you both broke and captured my heart. I never intended to have my uncle ruin your life, but hopefully I have partially atoned for his sins. The day we buried your past, I feel like mine was buried as well. Together we managed to forge our own path together that has changed the both of us. The day that I kissed you, was the day that things stopped being about_ _ **me**_ _, and started being about_ _ **us**_ _. When I thought I had lost you in that town, I felt like I had lost part of myself. I never want to feel that way again. Even though we've already become one flesh before, and that flesh is now growing inside of you, I want to become one heart, one soul. I want to marry you tomorrow. I never want to lose that part of me again, I never want to lose_ _ **you**_ _. I love you, Sakura._

 _-S.U._

Of course the note couldn't contained his fully signed name, given the nature of its contents. Sakura was sniffling and trying to calm her breathing by the end of the note. She had never once heard him so eloquently express his feelings of the past, present, and future. Most of the time he kept his thoughts to himself, which gave him an air of both aloofness and detachment. Sakura had never minded, knowing that his actions spoke louder than his words, but words were always appreciated too.

"That sappy, huh?" Ino inquired, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yea" Sakura let out a broken laugh with her now stuffy nose, wiping her tears on her sleeves.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer:** I  DO NOT own Naruto.

 **So I've been having some really hard stuff happen lately in real life. Namely I've been getting next to no sleep and waking up with panic attacks in the middle of the night, dealing with rats in my ceiling that my parents still won't pay to have a professional come try and fix wherever it is they're getting in, and also just in general dealing with familial issues between my grandmother with dementia barring me from most of the food in the kitchen and my mother doing nothing to stop her. I've been starting to kinda get it under control with some rather unorthodox methods (getting blazed), but desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm not sure when I'll have the next part to this chapter up, but I hope that you all will enjoy this little wedding arc. It'll probably be over by next chapter so you have that to look forward to!  
I hope you beautiful people leave me awesome reviews again! I'll be responding to them in private messages :)**

* * *

It was finally here. The moment Sakura had both been dreading and dreaming ever since her head hit the pillow the night before with Sasuke's note underneath. She clutched the sheet of paper in her hands, unsure of what exactly she was supposed to with it. The note itself was dangerous with the contents it held. It was enough to damn both her and Sasuke should someone find it in her possession, however she couldn't bring herself to part with words that were so dear to her heart. She decided that it would probably be best to keep it on her person until after the ceremony, then she could find a better place for safe keeping. It wasn't long until Ino barged into the pinkette's room with a cheery voice and annoyingly happy disposition.

"Get _up_!" she screeched with a happy tone, "It's your day today!"

"You mean _our_ day. I'm not marrying myself y'know" Sakura gave her friend a half-lidded expression of mild agitation.

Ino just slapped her friends legs as she made to pull her friend out of her bed jokingly, "C' _mon_! You gotta get bathed, your make up done, your hair made, and your dress assembled, not to mention a few _personal_ grooming odds and ends" Ino said the last part with a heavily implied tone of sensuality.

Sakura groaned. Why couldn't Sasuke just come to her chambers for a night and lay with her and be done with it. They'd done that much already. That was the most exciting part to look forward to and they'd already done that, so to her the wedding felt like a spider web of annoying formalities that stood between her and her actual happiness. After the blond had coaxed her friend out of her bed and shoved her into the bathroom, she closed the door behind them. After filling the tub she quickly filled it with oils, some different than the usual ones.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked, noticing the change in the normal smell.

"This" Ino held up the purple stained glass vial, "Is a special lavender oil that is mean to soothe and calm someone mentally _and_ physically. It's a rare oil that was a gift from one of the noble families for the occasion today. They thought that you might be able to use it."

"One of the noble families?" Sakura asked with a knowing scowl, staring right at the noble she suspected responsible.

Ino laughed then replied, "You caught me. Well, my family. I normally wouldn't be able to procure this on my own, however my father thought that it would be a nice gift. He knows I'm very fond of you, so he's developed a vicarious fondness for you as well."

"Will they be here at the ceremony?" Sakura asked with a quirked brow.

Ino nodded as she said, "Of course! All the noble families are in town for an occasion such as this. There probably won't be this many nobles gathered in one place at the same time again until a coronation or-" Ino cut her self off before she could speak the words.

"Or what?" Sakura asked not liking that her friend had abruptly stopped mid sentence.

"Or a royal family member dies..." Ino trailed off, regretting that she was essentially cornered into finishing her statement.

Sakura just let out a deep sigh, "Well unless someone poisoned something I don't think today will be a day for funerals."

"You'd be surprised" Ino said with a shockingly dry sarcastic tone as she remembered Sasuke's impulsive threat to have her beheaded yesterday.

After a few minutes of massaging some oils into Sakura's hair, Ino let the pinkette have a few minutes of solitude in the hot bath. Once she was out of there it was likely that she wouldn't rest until sunrise the next day. The least Ino could do was give her a half hour's respite while she got the rest of Sakura's things ready upon the pinkette's emergence from the bath. After barking some orders at hand maids and chamber maids Ino set to work going through some of Sakura's things to find appropriate hair accessories for her dress. The thing had to be assembled last minute yesterday because the whole back half of the dress was literally flowers. It was a small bit of flowers at the waist line that then stemmed and fanned out at the bottom (see story picture). The back was almost completely open, and the dress was a beautiful hue of lavender. Ino was envious of her for having such a beautiful dress that was a complete hassle to both make and maintain, but of course nothing less for the future crown princess of Konoha, future General Queen of the people.

"Ino?" Sakura asked questioningly as she popped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, "How on earth is this going to get dry in enough time?"

Sakura was pointing to her long pink tresses that were washed clean of the oils Ino had rubbed in them earlier, but very wet. Ino wanted to laugh at the fact that the princess had never had her hair heat blown before. She pulled out a small tray of hot coals from underneath the princess's vanity desk that she'd requested be brought in earlier and gestured for Sakura to sit in the chair. The girl did as she was told and a chamber maid came over with a large fan and began fanning the heat over Sakura's hair.

"Granted this won't be that quick, or dry completely, but it'll give your hair a head-start. Just sit tight while I go to my room next to do a few things myself and I'll make my way back over here to do your makeup." Ino gave her friend a quick smile before turning to a hand maid standing by the door, "Don't you dare let a soul in here besides me so help me god."

Sakura had to laugh at her best friend. Always the vigilant chaperon. She was taking this wedding guard duty way too seriously. Sakura took a moment to sit in front of the vanity as she watched her hair slowly form lose waves from it suddenly being lifted from the burden of the water that was previously in it. Her mind began to wander. Instead of wandering down the hall where her future spouse was, it wandered instead outside the palace, past the city gates, all the way to her family's former farm house. She hadn't gone back since the day she buried her parents there. Although Genma now owned the place, she couldn't bring herself to ever visit. Her mother would have been breathless at the luxury dress and and jewelry she was supposed to wear. Her father would've been both proud and staunchly protective, as he walked his daughter down the aisle. The last though was what bit into her the most. Her father was gone. She would descend the aisle alone, and that thought killed her inside. Her happiness was taken from her and here she was beginning to find it again, only to lose it to past thoughts of what she'd lost.

"M'lady?" one of the handmaids said in concern as she noticed a single tear streak down Sakura's face, "Are you ok m'lady?"

Sakura was shaken from her daze as she acknowledge the maid, "Yes, I'm sorry. Just wedding nerves."

The woman smiled with a warmth of understanding, "Sometimes it's best to stay rooted in the present. Helped me on my wedding day."

Sakura tried to smile at the woman, but knew she wouldn't feel whole again until she was with Sasuke, the only reminder of what she had left in this world. The woman began talking to her about all the fun she'd had at her own wedding, and how she nearly chickened out at the altar, but was glad she didn't. Sakura could tell that this woman was truly trying to inspire her, however Sakura's mind still wandered in her subconscious, swimming in both what will be and what could've been, two very dangerous concepts to intermingle. Sakura's only saving grace was a loud resounding knock on the door followed by her blond friend making her grand re-entrance. The woman made her way over to Sakura with a few odds and ends in hand that she assumed was for her hair.

"Alright, let's get started, because you're going to be in this chair for a while..." Ino mumbled as she started setting out several things onto the vanity table.

Sakura just rolled her eyes in irritation. The best part of her wedding night was going to be when she could take and wash all this stuff off of her.

* * *

"Chill out man. Out of everything, I would think today would be the least stressful for you" Naruto had his arms crossed while sitting in one of Sasuke's arm chairs in his chambers.

The raven haired man inspected his outfit once more in the mirror. The royal purple ensemble with a dark sash and his black cape clipped onto the overcoat was bothering him. This was way more than he was used to wearing and it was heavy. He felt constricted. More than that, he kept eying the crown over on the cushion. He wasn't wearing his other crown either. He had neatly placed the steel crown in his wardrobe, not wanting to have anything adorn his head for the moment.

"What are you so worried about? The servants have everything covered, this has been planned for _months_ Sasuke. Even though the announcement was made recently, your mother's quite the schemer and has been pulling strings since Sakura entered her name in the pool of fighters for the General position."

Sasuke scowled at Naruto, not liking to think back on his fiancé getting nearly beaten to a pulp. After heaving a deep sigh, Sasuke plopped down on his bed. His room felt suffocating. He'd been stuffed up in it all day, it was almost noon and the ceremony would happen within the hour. He hadn't seen or talked to anyone besides Naruto and his father. He hadn't even seen his mother, who was no doubt managing the final touches for the wedding and greeting all the noble guests.

"Shouldn't you be with your parents?" Sasuke asked naruto with a mixture of curiosity and hostility.

Naruto almost laughed at how agitatingly flustered he was, "I already saw them. They'll save me a seat, don't worry. I'd rather stay with you till the last moment."

Sasuke felt a slight peace of mind at Naruto's unintentional acts of loyalty that could basically be called true friendship. The other boys of his court were nowhere to be found, but he didn't even expect Naruto to keep him company during these torturous final hours. Sasuke felt very similar to Sakura in some regards. He didn't want to have this entire ceremony that would no doubt eat half of their day away. He also viewed it as an obstacle standing between him and their happiness. It's not that there was nothing to look forward to. The problem was they knew exactly what to look forward too and they didn't want to deal with the formalities.

"Role call" Someone said as they knocked on the door.

Sasuke opened it to see one person that he honestly would rather brood alone than talk to, "Itachi."

"How nice of you to not slam the door in my face" he smiled sarcastically, "Father says to go ahead and take your place. The ceremony will happen within the hour."

"Finally" Sasuke grunted before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Good luck" Naruto said from behind him with a reassuring pat on his back before both boys went down separate hallways to their destinations.

Itachi had one more pit stop on his way to the ceremony.

* * *

"Knock knock" someone said from the other side of the door instead of actually knocking, infuriating Ino.

"What?!" She seethed as she abruptly opened it before crossing her arms with a sigh.

"Your escort is here" Ino said over her shoulder, look at the pinkette who was sitting just inside the doors to her balcony, looking out over the gardens.

Sakura stood up and turned around to face Itachi and caught him by surprise. Itachi himself, master of latent facial expressions even gave away his emotions in that instant. His breath was gone as he looked at his future sister in law. There standing before him was his future queen in probably the most stunning attire he'd seen her in yet. Her eyes were more fierce than he remembered them in her armor. He makeup highlighting her strong cheekbones and facial features that would otherwise go undetected to the untrained eye. Itachi was at a loss for words until he stepped inside her room and cleared his throat.

"Your highness" he bowed slightly before holding out his arm, "Your future king awaits."

With a shake of her head and a whispered chain of insults, Sakura grabbed onto Itachi's arm and took one last glance over her shoulder at Ino who was also preparing to leave the room and make her way down to the ceremony. After they had turned a few corners and appeared to be relatively alone, Itachi looked over at Sakura with a mixture of sympathy and conflict in his eyes.

"Sakura" he said her name to get her attention, but also to indicate the seriousness in his tone, "Since your father isn't here, I've been asked to walk you down the aisle."

Sakura felt that sting revisiting her chest as she nodded. She knew that Itachi didn't know her very well, and that she'd much rather have her biological father do this duty despite how impossible it was. Unfortunately since he was the deputy prince, the only other person who could step in to accept the responsibility of handing off the crown princess to-be would be the king, who decidedly pushed that onto his second son.

"I'm sorry" Itachi added with a sigh, "I know you'd much rather have another do this, but hopefully this will be better than walking alone."

"Anything is better than being alone" Sakura let out her own breath she was holding as they approached closer to the ceremony venue.

"Anything?" Itachi almost chuckled with a mischievous expression on his face.

Sakura felt her tension slightly loosen as she cracked a smile and slapped her future brother in law's arm before hissing playfully, "You know damn well what I meant."

"Princess" Itachi faux gasped, "You shouldn't use such fowl language."

Sakura was now laughing as she beat on his arm a second time, shaking him a little while she laughed. Itachi was glad that he was able to see her smile, see happiness in her eyes instead of longing and sadness Out of all the days for a girl to be without a father, this would be one of the worst. The two of them stepped into a carriage outside the castle as the driver then quickly rode towards the city's main temple. Itachi watched Sakura gaze out the window in slight wonder. It made him want to chuckle at her in his own way. It was obvious that she had never been inside the city for a festival before, or she would at least have some capacity of understanding for the level of the celebration. Colorful streamers were hung all throughout the city. Children were playing games in the street, and people were already day drinking in a pre-mature celebration of what was to come. She also couldn't help but notice alongside Sasuke's family's crest of the Uchiha's, was her own father's crest, a personal touch compliments of Mikoto she was sure.

"You are no orphan" Itachi read her mind, "Though the only survivor, your house should still be honored properly."

Sakura nodded, trying to keep tears of gratitude and sadness from ruining her makeup before she even arrived. After the carriage had pulled up to a private side entrance of the grand building, Itachi got out first in order to help Sakura properly out of the carriage so as not to snag her dress or damage the several cascading flowers on the back.

"Easy" he told her as she descended the chariot step when he noticed her wobble.

"Shit" Sakura hissed to herself as she grabbed her head while it began spinning.

"Woah!" Itachi winced as he caught Sakura before she could fall and sully her dress, "What's wrong? Are you sick?" He asked as he scanned her face for signs of illness.

"No" she swatted his hands away, "I'm fine. Just a case of wedding nerves and not eating breakfast."

"Whatever you say" Itachi said with the trace of a scowl, not believing a word of her explanation.

Sakura quickly scurried inside with Itachi hot on her heels. The two of them were guided down a few halls to a waiting chamber where Sakura could catch her breath and fix any last minute details before her highly anticipated entrance into the sanctuary. Itachi was waiting with her, the role of chaperon passed down to him. Any moment now he knew someone would beckon them to begin their walk. Sakura felt that she was going to vomit. Ironically not from nausea but nervousness. In that room were the most powerful and influential people in that region, and they were all there to watch her marry their future leader. She felt as if she were being sized up.

"Calm down" Itachi grunted, "I can hear your raged breathing from here."

Sakura put a hand to her chest, able to feel the palpations right below her skin with her palms. After a few moments of deep concentrated breaths, she was able to slow her heart rate and regulate herself. However the peace was short lived as a head popped in the door.

"It's time" they said before disappearing just as quickly.

"Just five more minutes" Sakura begged with a look of a cornered animal in her eyes.

"It's now or never Sakura. In five minutes I guarantee you that you won't feel any better." Itachi slightly scolded her foolishness, hoping that it would prod her forward so that she could finish the day and move onto the more important and less nerve wracking parts of her life.

"Where will he be?" Sakura asked nervous and clearly uninformed about how these ceremonies work.

Itachi grabbed her hand and placed it on his arm as he began slowly walking her out of the side room to wait behind two very large, closed temple doors, "You can't miss him, I promise" Itachi said with a sarcastic smirk.

Low and behold, once two servants used their strength to pull apart the doors, Sakura was able to see Sasuke waiting for her right there in the middle of the sanctuary at the end of the aisle. She felt her breath catch in her throat as a sense of dread washed over one half of her body while relief coated the other half. Being able to see Sasuke gave her the tunnel vision that she needed to keep her feet moving down the aisle as Sasuke stared directly at her. At the same time though, she could feel every single person's eyes on her, sizing her up, watching _her._ She felt like a court jester and a crown jewel at the same time. Sasuke had on his head his royal crown. She hadn't seen it since the general banquet when they announced her engagement to him. However, she noticed on the altar, not too far away from Sasuke, was a tiara. It was silver like his, and adorned with similar marked rubies and diamonds with a more feminine size and shape to it than his crown.

Once Sakura reached the end of the aisle she was mere feet away from Sasuke and held her breath before one of the monks belted out, "Who here releases this maiden to be wed to this man?"

"I do" Itachi grunted before he slowly untangled the pinkette's fingers from his own and gently nudged her towards Sasuke.

Sasuke saw how petrified Sakura was, and how she had no idea what she was supposed to do. Unfortunately in the rush of the wedding preparations and Sakura's poor health, they were unable to rehearse the ceremony or give Sakura an accurate glimpse of what would be expected of her. In order to save herself from embarrassment Sasuke quickly grabbed her arm and gently led her to stand in front of him so she was facing him. Itachi bowed then took his leave to sit in the front row next to his mother and father.

The monk began with the usual vows of death an life, rich and poor, sickness and health. Sasuke had to roll his eyes at that part. God knew she had enough sickness already that he'd dealt with. However the one thing Sasuke was dreading were the vows. He'd practically sent his to her in a risqué letter last night, but he didn't have the damnedest idea of what he was going to say to her now. Once the monk picked up the small cushion that held two golden rings, he held one out to Sasuke expectantly.

"With this ring," Sasuke started his vows as he held Sakura's hand, "I promise to lead and protect you, like I would my kingdom. Though you walk into battle as a general, you will never go into a fight alone. I will never leave you behind. The hardest thing I have ever had to give is my heart, but you took it right out from under me, so I promise you my soul. My life, my essence, my very existence is yours until the day I die." After finishing his sentence he slid the ring the rest of the way down her finger.

Sakura was staring at Sasuke with eyes the size of saucers. She wasn't sure exactly what she was supposed to say, but some how once the monk had given her the ring and she looked down at Sasuke's strong hands the words finally came to mind as she held the ring at the tip of his finger, "You carried me when I was weak, so I too will shoulder your burdens when they become too much. My love is unlimited and isn't bound to any tangible form of measurement, and it is all yours. You also took my heart without asking, but I ask that you never give it back. I never want to leave your side. Your fights are my fights, and your pain is my pain, you joy is my joy. With this ring, I bind myself to you until the day I die." Once she finished she slid the ring down his finger as well.

The ceremony wasn't over yet though. Sakura wasn't part of the royal family, so since she was marrying into the crown she had to make a separate vow to the people.

"Sakura Haruno" the monk looked at the pinkette, "Please kneel."

At this mention Fugaku stood up as he made his way over to the alter to handle the crown princess's tiara and recite the vow she must adhere to. After the monk bowed to the king he stood off slightly to the side with Sasuke as they watched Sakura's form of a coronation.

"Sakura" the king bellowed, "Do you promise to guide and protect the kingdom?"

"I do" she replied.

Fugaku continued, "Do you promise to nurture and guide the citizens?"

"I do" she agreed once more.

"Do you hereby renounce your maiden name to join the royal family, and continue our line of succession with our house's name."

Sakura had to slightly hesitate at this mention of renouncing her name. However if she were to have gotten married in her village it would've been much the same. She would've still assumed her husband's name. It would just be phrased as "taking" his name, instead of renouncing her own.

"I do" she said after a few seconds of silence.

"Then" Fugaku stated as he slowly started to lower the crown onto her head, "I hereby declare you the crown princess, wife of my son, and new daughter of my house. Rise."

Sakura knew the ceremony was soon to be over since the entire sanctuary erupted with clattering cheers and applause at their new princess. She had to resist the urge to turn around and face them as she realized that Sasuke was assuming his position by her side, continuing to face the monk. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do next, but Sasuke knew. He gestured with sideways glances and head nods for her to keep facing forwards. Sakura could hear the feet of people shuffling out of the building, no doubt headed towards the feast that awaited them at the castle.

"Come" the monk said in a slightly more casual tone now that it was only the 3 of them.

Even the rest of the royally family had gone on without them. Sakura wasn't sure what to do, but followed Sasuke's example as he got on both his knees in front of the monk. His hands were on his thighs as his eyes were closed, head bowed in reverence. Sakura swallowed hard before following his example.

"A blessing" the monk said monotonously as he began sprinkling water on both their heads while chanting the same religious language that Sakura didn't understand.

The only thing she understood about the situation was that she didn't dare open her eyes.

* * *

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

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